China News Service, Chongqing, April 20 (Reporter Zhong Yi) On the evening of April 18, Sichuan International Studies University brought its English-language stage productions of The Tempest and The Peach Blossom Fan to Yiyuan Theater in Kaizhou District, Chongqing, offering local audiences an evening of English-language theater inspired by both Chinese and Western classics.

Yiyuan Theater is a well-known cultural program in Kaizhou, known for its 1-yuan tickets and community-centered performances. Staged in celebration of the 110th program in the Yiyuan Theater series, the performance also marked the program’s first English-language drama presentation.

A scene from The Tempest　

Onstage, the cast delivered assured performances in English, bringing both Chinese and Western classics to life for a local audience. The production was warmly received, with frequent applause throughout the evening. The performance also attracted strong interest online, drawing a cumulative livestream audience of 50,000 and more than 18,000 interactions.

Behind the scenes, the production reflected months of careful work by SISU students and faculty. From stage design and rehearsals to movement and performance coaching, the team approached each part of the process with professionalism and care. The experience gave students an opportunity to deepen not only their performance skills, but also their ability to work across cultures and collaborate as an ensemble.

For Fu Yunyi, who played a leading role in The Tempest, the performance was also a turning point. She said the experience reshaped how she thinks about art and its purpose.

“I used to think of art mainly in terms of the stage itself,” she said. “But this experience helped me see more clearly what I want to do in the future. It made me realize that developing as an artist also means learning how to serve the community and connect with people through performance.”

A scene from The Peach Blossom Fan

Duan Chengdi, who played the lead in The Peach Blossom Fan, said, “The hardest part was not learning the lines. It was working out how to express the spirit and emotion of the play in English. In the future, I want to keep growing as a performer and use foreign languages to tell Chinese stories to more people.”　　

The performance was part of SISU’s broader effort to advance arts education through immersive, community-based practice. Using theater as a bridge, the university is exploring new models that connect arts education with public cultural programs and partnerships with local venues. The two fully English-language productions not only brought something new to local audiences in Kaizhou, Chongqing, but also added fresh energy to the city’s cultural scene, creating a meaningful exchange between campus arts and community performance.