I_Shenzhen is a continuation of the evening of 10 October 2020.
That evening, on stage, there were Nandao, Xue Yang, Zhou He, Cao Leilei, Zhao Yong, Yijie and Luoluo. Towards the end of the performance, they stood around a long table, raising their glasses to one another, exchanging wishes, and singing loudly through their laughter: “Sunny, one so true, I love you…”
That evening, after the performance, we gathered for dinner at a restaurant near the theatre. We drank, talked, and whenever the mood took us, we gathered around the long table and started singing Sunny again… We stayed until late into the night, reluctant to say goodbye, before each of us returned to our busy lives.
I often compare each theatre production to a journey with friends. There is the excitement, the tension and the joy of travelling together, but also the sense of loss that often comes when a journey ends. And so, whenever a wonderful journey comes to an end, we inevitably begin making plans, looking for another opportunity to set off together.
That is how I_Shenzhen came about. Because we didn’t want to part. We wanted to keep travelling together, to keep exploring different landscapes.
I_Shenzhen brings together the people from Sunny — still the same people — and new companions who were drawn to Sunny: Feifei, Yajiao, Xiaoxue, Xiaomi and Xiaotian. They all came to Shenzhen at different times to live and work.
This time, they wanted to tell us about the Shenzhen they carry within them. This city has brought them uncertainty and anxiety, challenges and hard work. But here, too, they have found the happiness they have worked so hard to build: friendship, love, family, careers…
Since last year, whenever I have come to Shenzhen, I have had the privilege of being their first listener in the rehearsal room. As I listened to them share their Shenzhen stories through laughter and tears, this city, which I knew so little about, gradually became familiar to me. Through their stories, I felt as though I, too, could sense the warmth of this place.
There is no doubt that Shenzhen will be warm this June: not only with the heat of a southern summer, but also with the warmth of ordinary people’s stories.
I hope that I_Shenzhen, created by people who have overcome all kinds of difficulties to find time amid their busy work and the fast pace of daily life (ah, in Shenzhen, everyone knows just how precious time is!), will bring a little comforting sunshine to those who live in this city or are simply passing through.
Sifan Shao
Shenzhen, 30 May 2021