Henrik Ibsen’s classic psychological drama Hedda Gabler found an unexpected international home in Huichang Theatre Village, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, serving as the opening production for Season 004 of the Huichang Theatre Festival held from May 29 to June 7. Spearheaded by director Travis Preston, stage designer Christopher Barreca, and dramaturg Marina Collins as inaugural artists-in-residence, the cross-cultural staging bridges Western classical theatre with the rich, thousand-year-old Hakka heritage of rural China.
The residency, which spanned two months of intensive development, transformed Huichang into a vibrant laboratory for international theatrical exchange.
The Bottom Line
- The Production: Travis Preston, Christopher Barreca, and Marina Collins led the development and premiere of Hedda Gabler as the opening performance of Huichang Theatre Festival Season 004.
- The Venue: Huichang Theatre Village occupies the historic Song Dynasty quarter of Stan Lai’s ancestral hometown, featuring four indoor venues, outdoor stages, residency programs, and specialized technical training facilities.
Three Friends, One Spirit and the Convergence of Rivers
The journey to Huichang began in October 2025, when Travis Preston and Marina Collins visited the theatre village to explore co-sponsoring and presenting a production for Season 004. They quickly realized the endeavor aligned perfectly with the mission of “Three Friends/One Spirit,” an international arts initiative they founded earlier that year. Designed to foster unbridled experimentation and cross-disciplinary collaboration, the initiative found a kindred spirit in Stan Lai, who envisioned Huichang Theatre Village as an incubator for innovative performing arts.
Geographically and symbolically, the location mirrors the artistic intent. Huichang—rendered 会昌—marks the convergence of the Mian and Xiang Rivers, which join to form the Gong River. This literal meeting of waters provided a powerful metaphor for three individual creative paths uniting under a shared commitment to artistic discovery. The region holds profound historical weight as the starting point of Chairman Mao’s Long March from nearby Huichang Mountain, all while remaining deeply steeped in Hakka culture.
Transforming an Ancestral Hometown Into a Global Stage
The transformation of Huichang’s oldest quarter into a thriving performing arts campus is a remarkable feat of cultural regeneration. The theatre village, featuring a Song Dynasty city wall tracing the riverbank, is the ancestral home of Stan Lai’s family. After decades of seeking a way to honor his roots, Lai partnered with his brother Bob, provincial and local governments, architect John Yang, Theatre Above, and the Huichang County team to bring the vision to life, launching the first festival in January 2024.
Today, the campus operates year-round with four indoor performance venues, scattered outdoor stages, artist residency programs, and China’s first technical theatre school dedicated exclusively to training backstage professionals. The Theatre Above Training Center maintains a local campus, underscoring a long-term dedication to nurturing artists across every phase of their careers. During their two-month stay, the visiting artists integrated deeply into this ecosystem, balancing rigorous production schedules with daily walks along the riverside and interactions with local residents.
| Festival Element | Details & Key Figures |
|---|---|
| Inaugural Residency Production | Hedda Gabler (Directed by Travis Preston, Set Design by Christopher Barreca, Dramaturgy by Marina Collins) |
| Festival Season 004 Dates | May 29 – June 7 (Residency spanned two months) |
| Key Public Programming | Stan Lai and Travis Preston dialogue (“Between Ancient and Modern, East and West”), Marina Collins art exhibition (“Brushstrokes of the Unseen”) |
| Infrastructure | Four indoor venues, outdoor stages, technical theatre school, and Theatre Above Training Center campus |
Bridging Ancient Traditions and Modern Performance
Beyond the opening night of Hedda Gabler, the residency featured an extensive roster of public programs designed to stimulate cross-cultural dialogue. Travis Preston participated in a headline discussion with Stan Lai titled “Between Ancient and Modern, East and West: Cross-Cultural Theatricality in Huichang Theatre Village,” alongside dedicated workshops for emerging theatre artists. Meanwhile, Marina Collins presented a public lecture on art-making and a poetry reading running concurrently with her solo art exhibition, “Brushstrokes of the Unseen: A Journey Through Art and Poetry,” which remained on display from May 27 to August 8.
This vibrant synthesis of high art and local daily life defined the residency experience. On weekends, public plazas filled with families and visitors, many donning elaborate historical or anime-inspired costumes for impromptu photo sessions against the backdrop of ancient walls. Ultimately, Huichang Theatre Village proves that ambitious, adventurous theatrical work can find a profoundly receptive home outside traditional metropolitan hubs, offering a compelling blueprint for community-integrated arts production.
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