Bridging the Gaps: mixed reality performance of Chinese Opera in Shanghai's rural and urban heritage sites

“弥合差距”活动将重点关注中国戏曲的创新表演，戏曲是一种传统的与农村社区有关的流行文化形式，作为建立新的中英伙伴关系和项目的案例研究。然而，农村和城市社区及其各自的创造性实践和经济之间的脱节仍然存在，并阻碍了这些发展。上海分为浦东和浦西：浦东包括不发达的农村；后者占据了由英国、法国和其他外国租界建造的富裕的金融区。上海也一直是旨在克服这些城乡差异的投资重点；其中包括斥资1亿英镑在浦东建设中国传统戏曲村，以及斥资200万英镑在外滩浦西将一座1860年英国国教教堂遗址改造成一座沉浸式剧院。然而，这些景点在考试开幕期间很难吸引游客。该项目将使中国和英国的合作伙伴合作，考虑中国戏曲混合现实表演的潜力，将农村和城市观众以及这些遗产地相互联系起来，同时也吸引新的国内和国际观众。项目研究者和参与者将在中英创意产业、传统和当代表演以及新技术方面带来互补的专业知识，并共同关注特定地点、以社区为基础和以观众为中心的创新工作。

Bridging the Gaps will focus on new and innovative performances of Chinese Opera, a form of popular culture traditionally relating to rural communities, as a case study to establish new China-UK partnerships and projects. Xi Jinpings' Presidency has from 2014 placed increasing emphasis on balancing rural-urban social economic development and positioned traditional Chinese art forms, including Chinese Opera, as the anchor of China's creative and cultural industries. Yet disconnections between rural and urban communities and their respective creative practices and economies persist and have held these developments back. Shanghai is separated into Pudong and Puxi: the former encompassing underdeveloped rural countryside; the latter occupying affluent financial quarters built by British, French, and other foreign Concessions. Shanghai has also been the focus of investments intended to overcome these rural-urban divisions; including the launch of a £100million traditional Chinese Opera Village in rural Pudong and the £2million redevelopment of an 1860 Anglican chapel heritage site into an immersive theatre in Puxi, on the Bund. Yet these attractions have struggled to attract visitors during their test openings. This project will bring China and UK partners into collaboration to consider the potential of mixed reality performances of Chinese Opera to connect rural and urban audiences and these heritage sites with each other, while also appealing to new national and international audiences. Project investigators and participants will bring complementary expertise in UK and China creative industries, traditional and contemporary performance, and new technologies, together with a shared focus on site-specific, community-based and audience-centred innovative work.