The battle for Beijing's Broadway

• Source: Global Times
• [23:06 December 13 2009]
• Comments

Manager of Beijing Oriental Pioneer Theater, Fu Weibo, suggested that the government make some efforts to put the old theaters into use.

"Many theaters are often standing idle due to various reasons. Some are geographically inconvenient. Some belong to institutes and are not open to the public. As most theaters are built by the government, it is a waste ofState-owned assets," Fu commented.

Jiang Li from the National Opera House added that even now, box once revenue of many popular theaters is not always satisfactory.

"Except for China National Opera House, People's Art Theater, the National Ballet of China and China Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble, tickets at most of the other theaters do not sell very well," Jiang explained.

"It will be diffcult for some to survive if they only live on their income. They have to rely on some government subsidy. So I doubt whether Beijing needs so many new theaters right now." Jiang added that even with the current number of theaters, there are not enough performances to fi ll them and that quality would su. er if quantity becomes the focus.

"If many theaters are set up, they will need more plays. Some plays that have not been produced well will be shown," explained Li Yinan, a teacher at the Central Academy of Drama. "The quality of plays cannot be guaranteed. It is not good in cultivating the audience."

"Building theaters should be combined with the development and creation of plays," added Fu Weibo from Beijing Oriental Pioneer Theater. "Without good and enough plays, theater operations will have serious problems."

According to the Beijing Culture Bureau, in the first nine months of the year, Beijing's 34 theaters were used for 2,160 shows, attracting 1.2 million people.