In the auditorium of Beijing Bayi School, on a cold morning thick with smog, props are broken, lines unlearnt and the mechanical curtain has blown a fuse. In four hours, my cast of 22 Chinese 14-year-olds, who have never acted before, will perform Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to an audience of 1,500 — in English. All their education has told them that drama is an irrelevance. As I race around the theatre, trying to track down an absent Grandpa Joe and a missing Golden Ticket I ask myself, not for the first time: what am I doing here?
寒冷而浓雾弥漫的早晨，北京市八一学校(Beijing Bayi School)的礼堂里，道具是坏的，演员忘记台词，机械大幕的保险丝也烧断了。还有四个小时，我挑选的22名没有任何表演经验的14岁manbetx3.0 小演员，将为1500名观众表演《查理与巧克力工厂》(Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)——用英语。他们所接受的全部教育都告诉他们，戏剧是个无关紧要的东西。当我在剧场里跑来跑去，努力寻找缺席的乔爷爷(Grandpa Joe)和无影无踪的金奖券(Golden Ticket)时，我又一次问自己：我在这儿干嘛呢？