文張婷 Zhang Ting譯曹宇光Cao Yuguang

童道明：戲劇，是對另一種生活的渴望

Tong Daoming: Theatre, Aspiration for a Different Kind of Life

文張婷 Zhang Ting譯曹宇光Cao Yuguang

《三滴水》劇照Stage Photo of Three Drops of Water

提到“童道明”這個名字，很多人的第一印象都是著名的戲劇評論家、俄羅斯文學(xué)研究者，而在不久前的第七屆南鑼鼓巷戲劇節(jié)中，一出體量不大、舞臺簡樸更未有知名演員出演的《三滴水》，卻收獲了很多觀眾的好評；人們更驚奇地發(fā)現(xiàn)，寫下這一作品的，正是如今已79歲的童道明。

1956年，19歲的童道明考入莫斯科大學(xué)，邂逅戲劇、亦邂逅影響他一生研究與創(chuàng)作的契訶夫；而60年后的今天，距離完成第一部劇本也已經(jīng)10年，他仍舊筆耕不輟——“我的戲未見得是有多好，但我想讓人們看到，戲還可以是這樣的?！痹谏缈圃簩＜宜奚針且婚g簡樸的屋中，談起自己寫的戲，童道明如是說。

《三滴水》由《幽默是燙出來的》《我沒有來晚吧？》與《風來霧散》三個喜劇小品組成，之所以取名“三滴水”，源于俄羅斯劇作家羅佐夫的《四滴水》?！傲_佐夫把四個情節(jié)并不相關(guān)的故事放在一起，每個故事都像一滴水，能以小見大，反映一點什么。我也寫了幾個小品，想把它們放在一起?！蓖烂髦毖裕拔覀儸F(xiàn)在的小品大多是搞笑的，而我希望追求的是幽默，是能令人會心一笑的。”

沒有常見于時下小品中的網(wǎng)絡(luò)段子，沒有刻薄的諷刺；有的只是微妙、細品之下更覺溫暖的一連串日常中的趣事與微妙的情感?！讹L來霧散》的故事發(fā)生在文學(xué)期刊的編輯部里，演出現(xiàn)場，當劇中的女編輯在與詩歌作者溝通，朗誦起馬雅可夫斯基的詩歌《好》時，筆者留意到，身邊上了年紀的觀眾也在臺下輕聲背誦?！拔矣浀卯斈炅魧W(xué)時，問起我的俄羅斯同學(xué)最近過得怎么樣，他就用了這首詩中的一句回答我——‘生活很好，生活得很好’?！痹谧髌分卸啻纬霈F(xiàn)詩歌，是童道明創(chuàng)作的一個特點，對此他談到：“寫著寫著，會覺得戲劇與詩歌是更接近的。我的第四個劇本《歌聲從哪里來》，里面的主人公是一位詩歌愛好者；而當我寫到第六個劇本《一雙眼睛兩條河》時，主角是一位詩人，我就為劇中這位詩人寫詩。我對契訶夫也一直有這樣的感覺，他的戲劇比小說更接近于詩，在他的戲劇中，人物的臺詞離我們的現(xiàn)實生活是有距離，是有詩意的。這是寫劇讓我很愉快的原因——可以從現(xiàn)實生活中跳出來，做一種詩意的表達?！?/p>

說到契訶夫，童道明講起1959年，自己在莫斯科大學(xué)文學(xué)系讀三年級時，要寫一篇題為《論契訶夫戲劇的現(xiàn)實主義象征》的學(xué)年論文。他的老師拉克申讓他去列寧圖書館，將所有有關(guān)契訶夫的書目寫在卡片上?！拔覍⒖ㄆ龊煤?，他逐一看過，告訴我哪本需要細讀，哪本不需要讀，哪本只需要讀其中的第幾章。拉克申老師只比我年長4歲，但他對契訶夫有如此精到的了解，讓我吃驚，更感到敬佩。1959年還是中蘇關(guān)系的蜜月期，論文寫完后，拉克申老師告訴我：‘童，我給你的論文打優(yōu)秀，不是因為你是中國人?！敃r他給我的評語是，一篇獨立思考的論文，寫得饒有趣味。當我準備回國的時候，他說，‘童，我希望你今后都不要放棄對戲劇、對契訶夫的興趣’。這句話，影響了我的一生?！?/p>

“在俄羅斯念書的時候，一張學(xué)生票就相當于在學(xué)生食堂吃一頓午飯的價格，非常便宜。那段時間我看了很多戲，不只是契訶夫的，還有莎士比亞等劇作家的?！蓖烂髦v到，“記得有一次去看《哈姆雷特》，坐在我前面是我們學(xué)校資歷最深的一位院士?？此臉幼泳椭溃隙ú皇堑谝换乜催@個戲了。為了反復(fù)欣賞自己喜歡的作品，甚至跟我們這些窮學(xué)生一起坐在很靠后的位置，這讓我記憶猶新?！痹谕烂骺磥?，俄羅斯之所以是戲劇大國，一個重要的原因在于那里有了不起的觀眾。

1990年，莫斯科藝術(shù)劇院總導(dǎo)演葉甫列莫夫受著名表演藝術(shù)家于是之的邀請，為北京人藝排演契訶夫的名劇《海鷗》，當時與童道明有過不少接觸。“他非常奇怪，剛到北京就問我，中國有沒有戲劇博物館？我說，天津有一個，北京大概只有梅蘭芳故居。他居然什么名勝古跡都沒有去，就專門去了天津的戲劇博物館和梅蘭芳故居?！?/p>

莫斯科藝術(shù)劇院由斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基和丹欽科在1898年創(chuàng)建，而葉甫列莫夫版的《海鷗》拋開斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基的導(dǎo)演大綱，給出了僅有一個亭子在移動的假定性舞臺，創(chuàng)新可謂大膽。“我記得他說：‘如果我現(xiàn)在還照搬斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基，那就意味著對斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基的背叛’。”童道明說，讓他印象深刻的還有，葉甫列莫夫?qū)Α逗ｚt》主題的總結(jié)——對另一種生活的渴望。“我寫的第一個劇本《我是海鷗》，也正是這樣的一個主題。男女主人公都有對另一種生活的渴望，但兩個人的渴望是不一樣的。1996年是契訶夫的《海鷗》問世100周年，我完成了這個劇本，但寫完就擱在那里了?！?/p>

“我寫戲很大的動力，來自于是之的一句話。他探望病重的英若誠回來時對我說，最大的遺憾，是中國的舞臺上少有真正為知識分子說話的戲。于是我下定決心要寫知識分子，第二個劇本《塞納河少女的面模》，就寫的是我一直敬重的老所長、詩人馮至，寫完也沒有發(fā)表。”直到2009年9月17日，馮至先生誕辰100周年的那天，這部作品才被第一次搬上舞臺，在蓬蒿劇場演出。

從《我是海鷗》到《塞納河少女的面模》，再到《秋天的憂郁》《歌聲從哪里來》《驀然回首》……78歲時，童道明完成了自己的第十個劇本——《神圣的戰(zhàn)爭》。沒有反面人物，是他作品的另一特點。說到這點，他還講起一件挺有意思的事：有位上海戲劇學(xué)院戲文系的學(xué)生來看他，說“童老師，如果你的劇本是我們寫的，在老師那里是通不過的”?！昂髞砦蚁朊靼姿f的是什么了，就是戲劇沖突不夠尖銳，因為沒有反面人物?！痹谕烂骺磥恚@個創(chuàng)作上的“欠缺”亦是受契訶夫的影響，“他的劇本里都沒有反面人物，當我自己開始寫劇本之后，才能夠體會為什么是這樣的。善良的契訶夫，具有強烈的悲憫情懷，寫不出壞人來。他不著力于寫人與人之間的沖突，也因此開辟了一個新的戲劇種類?！蓖烂髡f，“戲劇好比一個女人，她有娘家——文學(xué)，也有婆家——舞臺藝術(shù)；但隨著導(dǎo)演中心制的流行，現(xiàn)在戲劇的文學(xué)性正在減弱。戲劇的文學(xué)性，不是具有強烈戲劇沖突的故事，也不是華麗的辭藻，而應(yīng)該是展現(xiàn)人的精神生活和內(nèi)心世界?！?/p>

獨立思考，饒有趣味——求學(xué)時，恩師拉克申的評語，多年來被童道明謹記在心，并視作努力的方向。而他在創(chuàng)作《契訶夫和米奇諾娃》時，更巧借劇中角色“契訶夫”之口，說出了這樣一段臺詞——“我剛剛寫完一篇小說，我就把小說里的一段話念出來，送給你和你的朋友們：‘將自己的全部生命貢獻給一項事業(yè)，從而讓自己成為一個有情趣的人，也成為一個能讓有情趣的人喜歡的人’?！?/p>

話劇《愛戀·契訶夫》劇照 王雨晨攝影Stage Photo of the Drama Affection in Love—Chekhov Taken by Wang Yuchen

話劇《塞納河少女的面模》劇照Stage Photo of Face Mold of a Girl by Seine River

話劇《愛戀·契訶夫》劇照 王雨晨攝影Stage Photo of the Drama Affection in Love—Chekhov Taken by Wang Yuchen

When talking about Tong Daoming, many people will mention his first impression as a well-known theatre critic and researcher of Russian literature. However, in the 7th Beijing Nanluoguxiang Performing Arts Festival lately, a drama titled Three Drops of Water with a moderate plot, simple stage and ordinary cast was well-received by many audiences who surprisingly found that its author was just Tong Daoming, a senior citizen at the age of 79.

In 1956, Tong, at the age of 19, was admitted into Moscow University where he encountered theatre and Anton Chekhov, both of which have determined his lifelong research and creation. Today, after 60 years have passed by and a decade since his virgin script, he has never ceased his writing. “My plays are not necessarily perfect, but I would like to remind people that drama can be realized in my way.” Tong said when talking about his own works in a simple room of Experts’ Dorm at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

The play Three Drops of Water consists of three comedies namely Humor is Boiled, Am I Late? and Wind Dismisses Fog. Its title is obviously a tribute to the play Four Drops of Water by Russian playwright Viktor Rozov. “Rozov just gathered four irrelevant stories, but every story, like a drop of water, did reflect a significant truth. Likewise, I wrote some tiny stories and piece them together.” Tong frankly uttered, “Though currently most comedies are just for laughs, I prefer to present humor that enables audiences to give a thought after laughing.”

In Tong’s play, we can find neither popular web-jokes nor mean satire. Instead, a series of daily interesting things and subtle feelings in his play will make audiences feel cozy in deep appreciation. The story of Wind Dismisses Fog is set in an editorial office of a literary magazine, and in the communications with poetry authors, the female editor recited some lines of the poem Good by Mayakovsky on live. At that moment, we can easily find that some elderly audiences couldn’t help reciting this familiar poem as well. “I still remember that when I asked one of my Russian fellow students how he was during my overseas study, he would invariably answer with a line of this poem—‘life is good, and I live a good life.’” The frequent occurrence of poetry is a significant characteristic of Tong’s plays. His explanation is as follows: “During my writing, I’ve come to realize that theatre is quite similar to poetry. In my fourth play Where Comes the Singing, the hero was a fan of poetry while in my sixth play A Pair of Eyes and Two Rivers the hero was a poet whose poetry was actually mine. I share this feeling about Anton Chekhov whose play, in contrast with his fiction, was much closer to poetry. In his play, the roles’ lines are of poetic sense and therefore keep a distance from our reality. That’s also why I enjoy composing plays—I can jump out of real life for a poetic expression”.

Upon Anton Chekhov, Tong mentioned his semester thesis titled On the Symbol of Realism in Chekhov’s Theatre when he was a junior student at Literature Department of Moscow University in 1959. Lakshin, his tutor, told him to collect all the references about Checkhov in Lenin Library and write down their names on a card. “When I completed that card, he looked through it very carefully and marked which book to read intensively, which to ignore and which to read a certain chapter only. Though he was merely four years older, his sophisticated knowledge about Chekhov indeed surprised me and aroused my admiration. The year 1959 was still within the honeymoon between China and Soviet Union. After I completed my thesis, Lakshin said to me, ‘Tong, I decide to give A to your thesis, but not because you come from China.’ As his comment said, ‘it is an essay with independent thinking and full of interesting ideas’. Before I set off back home, he said in all sincerity, ‘Tong, I hope that you will never give up interest in theatre or Chekhov’, which has influenced my entire life.” Tong recalled.

“During my study in Russia, a student’s admission was quite cheap, only at the mere price of a lunch at the canteen. At that time, I watched many plays, not only of Chekhov, but also other dramatists’ such as Shakespeare.” Tong said, “Once when I watched the play Hamlet, I found that an academician of the highest seniority was sitting in the front row of mine. From his facial expression, I could tell that he must have watched this play for several times. In order to appreciate his favorite play once and again,he never minded taking such a back seat with a group of poor students like me, which has impressed on my mind for good.” As far as Tong is concerned, as a great power of theatre, Russia is always blessed with many such extraordinary audiences as that figure.

In 1990, at the invitation of Chinese well-known performing artist Yu Shizhi, Oleg Efremov, the chief director of Moscow Art Theatre came to rehearse the Chekhov’s masterpiece The Seagull for Beijing People’s Art Theatre, and thus had quite a few contacts with Tong. "He was a queer guy, and upon his arrival in Beijing, he asked me if there was any theatre museum in China. I told him that there was one in Tianjin and in Beijing, the former residence of Master Mei Lanfang could be regarded as one. Then he paid a special visit to the theatre museum in Tianjian and Mei’s residence rather than any other places of tourist interest" .

The Moscow Art Theatre was established by Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko in 1898. However, the Efremov’s version of The Seagull had nothing at all to do with the Stanislavski’s director outline and showed bold innovation by presenting a moving pavilion as presumptive stage. “I still remember his following words, ‘if I totally copy Stanislavski’s version, that is nothing but betrayal of this theatre master.’” Tong recalled. What impressed him most was Efremov’s conclusion about the theme of the play—aspiration for a different kind of life. “My first play I’m a Seagull shared the same theme, and the hero and the heroine have their respective aspirations for a different kind of life, though the contents of their aspirations vary. The year 1996 was the 100th anniversary of the publication of Chekhov’s The Seagull and I completed my script in the same year, but there is no more follow-up.”

“My motivation for theatre creation comes from a meaningful word from Yu Shizhi who returned from a visit to Ying Ruocheng in severe illness—the biggest regret on China’s stage is lack of plays that speak for the intellectual. At this word, I was determined to choose Chinese intellectual as the hero of my following plays. My second play Face Mold of a Girl by Seine River is about Feng Zhi, a poet and elder head of Foreign Language Institute of CASS who I always respect. I just left it alone after completion.” Tong said. It was on September 17, 2009, the 100th anniversary of Master Feng Zhi’s birth that this play was presented on the stage of Penghao Theatre for the very first time.

From I’m Seagull to Face Mold of a Girl by Seine River, then to Autumn’s Melancholy, Where Comes the Singing and Total Retrospect, at the age of 78, Tong completed his 10th play Holy War. The absence of antagonist is another characteristic of his works. For this point, Tong told us an interesting story. A student from Department of Dramatic Literature of Shanghai Theatre Academy once came to see him and said,“Mr. Tong, supposing your play is our assignment, our teacher will never give it a pass.” “Later I came to realize that his point was that there is no antagonist in my play and therefore the dramatic conflict is not sharp enough.” As far as Tong can see, this flaw is also the outcome of Chekhov’s influence. “There is no antagonist either in Chekhov’s scripts and it was not until I began to compose my own script that I came to realize the reason. As a kind-hearted writer with a strong compassion, Chekhov was unable to present a bad guy. He never intended for an interpersonal conflict and thus opened up a new category in drama.”Tong said, “Just like a married woman, theatre has her own mother—literature and her own motherin-law—stage arts. Nevertheless, along with the fashion of director-core system, the literary feature of theatre is considerably reduced. Rather than a story with an intense dramatic conflict or florid rhetoric, the literary feature of a play ought to be a showcase of a person’s spiritual life and inner world.”

Such comments from his teacher Lakshin during his days in Russia as “independent thinking”, “full of interesting ideas” still linger in Tong’s mind as his direction for endeavor. When he composed the play Chekhov and Mizinova, he made a conclusion through the following line of the hero (Chekhov): “I’ve just completed a novel and I would like to quote a sentence from it as souvenir for you and your friends—‘by dedicating my entire life to a certain cause, I have turned myself into a person of good taste and a person favored by those of good taste’”.