Fest of storytelling to music

The Shanghai Pingtan Troupe celebrates its 60th anniversary with performances that begin tonight and run through November 20. Classic tales and modern retelling are on the program.Pingtan is the stage art that features storytelling to music and usually involves just one or two people on stage. It dates back around 400 years and originated in the area around Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.It's a leisurely form of entertainment that mostly appeals to older people. The upcoming shows attempt to appeal to a younger audience with shorter stories and some modern, creative takes on old stories.For example, on November 20 the original show will be unlike typical adaptations of "A Dream of Red Mansions" that focus on a love story. It will tell of the hard lives of young women servants who witness the rise and fall of the large Chinese feudal family. Yuan Yang, a servant of Grandmother Jia, refuses the advances of her master Jia. Loyal and chaste maid Qing Wen is suspected of having a liaison with the adolescent heir Jia Baoyu. She is dismissed and dies of illness.Performers ranging in age from their 20s to 80s will perform at the opening ceremony tonight at the Yifu Theater. The program features excerpts from "Romance of the West Chamber," "Jade Dragonfly" and "Night Rain." They exhibit considerable diversity in singing and storytelling style.Original adaptations of stories from "The Three Kingdoms" will be staged tomorrow. They will include new interpretations of famous tales during the turbulent period, such as "Borrowing Arrows with Thatched Boats," "Catch and Release Cao Cao on Huarong Road" and "Battle of Changban."