Still photos of the drama Crocodile Photos: Courtesy of Magnificant Culture

Crocodile, the first play that Nobel laureate Mo Yan penned after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012, premiered on Friday and Saturday nights in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province. 

The magical realist drama that digs into the depths of human nature and explores the themes of desire and decadence was very well received among audiences and critics, thanks to director Wang Keran from Magnificent Culture and the performances of veteran actors, including Taiwan actor Winston Chao, who plays the protagonist; Zhang Kaili, a national first-class actress with the National Theatre of China; soprano Yao Hong, also vice-president of the China National Opera House; Hong Kong actress Sheren Tang and xiangsheng (cross-talk) actor Bai Kainan.



In the story, Shan Wudan, a corrupt Chinese official who has fled to the US, is gifted a small crocodile as a birthday present. Over the course of a decade, as he nurtures and indulges the reptile, the creature grows excessively, much like his own insatiable desires.

The play's success not only lies in Mo Yan's thoughts on human nature and desires, but also reflects the rich imagination and detailed expression of the director and actors on the stage, who vividly portray a series of classic characters. 

Mo Yan considers "a good drama to be a mirror of life," allowing each of us to view ourselves, our nobility, our purity, and our weaknesses in the characters of the play. 
"Such an observation, such an appreciation, is not only an appreciation of art, but also a kind of observation of one's own life."



Although Crocodile is a story about a corrupt official, it is also the story of a human being. The characters in the play present the common points of human nature, including human strengths and weaknesses. And human desires, sometimes like the crocodile, if not restrained, will expand rapidly and even engulf their possessor one day. On stage, we see others, but also ourselves. 

Mo Yan mulled this play for years, while director Wang made it a reality. Both of them share the same idea about portraying human nature, hoping to present a living person on stage, not just one labeled as a "good" or "bad" person.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. life@globaltimes.com.cn