The story of Shanghai's liberation is presented to audiences of all ages with a new interpretation on the Party's birthday

"Performing "Battle of Shanghai" on the Party's birthday is of great significance. Today, I have to preach the red history in the literary and artistic party class. It is a challenge for acrobats and also a new attempt." Wang Huaifu, the leading actor of "Battle of Shanghai", said. On July 1 and 2, the "Battle of Shanghai" acrobatic literary and artistic party class was held at the YOUNG Theater in Yangpu District. The carefully choreographed acrobatics and recitation combined with history vividly reproduced the process of liberating Shanghai. On June 30, the Shanghai Puppet Theater's "Listen to the 'Little Newsboy' Singing the Feelings of the Country" event used puppet performances and real-life sharing to let children understand the difficulties and sacrifices of Shanghai's liberation.

It has been exactly 5 years since the premiere of "Battle of Shanghai". "Influenced by the character Jiang Hua I played, I submitted an application to join the party after the first performance of "Battle of Shanghai" in 2019, and joined the Communist Party of China in 2021." Wang Huaifu hopes that through his efforts, the audience can intuitively understand the sacrifices made by revolutionary predecessors for the people's happy life. "Jiang Hua and I are both party members. Looking at history from my perspective, from the south bank of Suzhou River to the tough battle in the city, he and I seem to have traveled through time and space and merged in the battle to liberate Shanghai, inspiring the young people of the new era to remember the revolutionary history and inherit the red gene."

"Two months ago, as soon as the information about the acrobatic art party class of "Battle of Shanghai" was released, there was an endless stream of consultation calls. The audience wanted to participate in the art party class related to Shanghai history on a special day." Liang Hongjun, director of the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe, said that the art party class broke through the limitations of acrobatics and let the acrobats speak. "The actors had a lot of feelings during the five years of performances of "Battle of Shanghai". This time, they not only used their bodies but also words to communicate with the audience, and they spent a lot of time studying the lines."

In Liang Hongjun's view, the literary and artistic party class is not only a review of historical events, but also a link between history and real life. Through the actors' explanations and performances, the audience can have a deeper understanding of the revolutionaries' fearlessness and the great sacrifices they made for national independence and people's liberation. "Especially through the perspective of the protagonist Lian Jianghua, the audience can see the vivid images of heroes and feel their firm beliefs."

"I have never spoken on stage before, but this time I was thinking about the lines even when I was sleeping." For Wang Huaifu, in addition to speaking on stage for the first time, mentoring young actors is also an important job. "I will pass on my experience of controlling roles and stage to newcomers, so that they can play their roles well and lead Group B well."

Wang Jiajun, the actor from Group B who plays Jiang Hua, is just 21 years old. "In this party class, Wang Jiajun plays a worker and also plays Jiang Hua in the scene of 'Exchange of Intelligence at the International Hotel'." Liang Hongjun said that the team members of "Battle of Shanghai" have been changed for 5 years, and there are 30% changes. Every year, there are five or six new actors joining, and they rotate with the actors of the resident project "Time Travel 2". Liang Hongjun was impressed that every time the tour of "Battle of Shanghai" goes to a place, there will be a complete rehearsal before the performance. "This is equivalent to doubling the performance volume. There is also a summary meeting after the performance. The actors always maintain a very full spirit and perform well in every "Battle of Shanghai".

On June 30, the Shanghai Puppet Theater held a special July 1 event, "Listen to the Little Newsboy Sing the Love of the Country" at the "Glorious City" 2024 Shanghai Red Culture Season, telling the children about the history of Shanghai's liberation. Focusing on the puppet musical "The Voice of the Newsboy", the puppet theater also organized a "Light of China, Inheriting the Future" puppet exhibition hall public welfare guided tour and a "Dialogue with the Newsboy" theme event to pay tribute to the little heroes and revolutionary history.

Adults and children came to the Ciro's Puppet Exhibition Hall early. As a patriotism education base, it integrates exhibition, viewing, interaction, experience, and leisure functions. It is a good place to explore excellent traditional art and receive patriotism and aesthetic education. Everyone was excited, carefully appreciating the exquisite puppet exhibits while listening to the explanations of the guides, walking into the history of Shanghai-style puppets and swimming in the ocean of red culture.

"The Voice of Newsboys" tells the story of how, on the eve of Shanghai's liberation, under the guidance of a young Communist Party member, teacher Ai Kexin, a newsboy school teacher, a homeless child who made a living by selling newspapers grew up to be a reliable helper of the Party, constantly delivering intelligence to the underground Party and making special contributions to the liberation of Shanghai. The clever puppetry skills and rich singing and dancing music in the play made the seven little newsboys come alive, winning rounds of applause from children and adults.

What are the interesting and novel stories behind "The Voice of the Newsboy"? The actors who played Pumpkin and Teacher Ai revealed the secrets to everyone and shared a lot of knowledge about Shanghai puppetry, satisfying the curiosity of children and adults. Yan Banzhi, the son of Yang Bijun, the prototype of "The Newsboy Song", was a special guest and shared his mother's indissoluble bond with "The Newsboy Song". Everyone was fully focused and deeply moved by this story that changed their destiny. In the D3 space, after taking photos with the actors, the children sat together and used their imagination to make a "The Voice of the Newsboy" poster with colorful stickers to pay tribute to the newsboy in their minds.