The curtain fell, the lights brightened, and the Bulgarian audience, fresh from the fantastical plot of Bao Er,erupted in applause. Amidst the 10 minutes of cheers and applause, the performers took their bows and encores until the entire audience rose to their feet. The applause and admiration echoed through the Golden DolphinPuppetFestival's theater for a long time...

On 3rd October, the interactive puppet show Bao Er, a representative work in theLittle Orange CastleChinese Picture Book series and co-produced by ShenzhenLittle Orange CastleCultural Communication Co., Ltd. andOh! CastleFestivalin Topu, successfully premiered at the Golden Dolphin International Puppet Art Festival in Bulgaria. This original masterpiece, which has already won numerous awards at domestic art festivals, uses artistic expressionwithoriental classical aesthetics to bring Chinese stories to the international stage, showcasing the enduring charm of culture that transcends time, space, and national boundaries, shining brightly in a foreign theater.

Bao Eris a classic illustrated book by renowned Chinese picture book author Cai Gao, adapted from the storyJia Erfrom Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studioduring the Qing Dynasty. The play delves deeply into the essence of traditional Chinese culture, skillfully blending the agility of paper-cutting, the ingenuity of shadow puppetry, the playfulness of puppetry, and the allure of opera to create a‘stage’imbued with oriental artistic conception.

From the pattern design of costumes and props to the artistic conception of stage scenes, everything is imbued with Eastern philosophical heritage and humanistic spirit, allowing Bulgarian audiences of all ages to intuitively feel the unique charm of traditional Chinese culture.

What truly transcends cultural boundaries are the shared emotions and values within the story.Bao Er,with its universal themes of self-identity, love, and courage, transcends artistic boundaries and cultural barriers, resonating deeply with audiences around the world regarding growth and resilience, becoming a bridgeconnecting emotionsand resonance.

To adapt to international performance scenes, the crew also completely reconstructed the stage design——reducing the volume while retaining the core oriental aesthetic, making the stage more delicate and agile; at the same time, innovating the way the protagonist Bao Er appears on stage, allowing Bao Er to‘fly out’with the movable light source‘Nameless Bird’. The moment of dynamic light and shadow interweaving captured the attention of the entire audience, achieving a perfect balance between‘traditional connotations’and‘international aesthetics’.

During the performance, the theatre was full. The audience sometimes held their breath, and sometimes cheered for the character's bravery, as if they were brought into a fantasy world and experienced the joys and sorrows with Bao Er.

As Liu Kehan, the director, said,‘I believe that the light of BaoEr's oil lamp will transcend the boundaries of language and culture. I also believe that when the nameless bird flies towards the audience, we convey not only light and shadow, but also a language that every life can understand - about love, about choice, and about the courage to face everything.’

The first international performance ofBao Erthis time, not only marked the successful promotion of the work, but also marked a key step for the production company, Little Orange Castle, and Oh! Castle Festival in Topu, to open the door to the international market. Leveraging the close collaboration between Oh! Castle Festival in Topu and the BulgarianGolden Dolphin International Puppet Art Festival, the work successfully established a complete path from domestic incubation to international presentation, setting a replicable model for subsequent productions to be exported internationally.

The success ofBao Er, is also inseparable from the empowerment of professional platforms. As a cultural industry platform connecting Chinese creations with the international stage, the Haimen Oh! Castle Festival in Topu played a crucial role as a‘ferryman’in this process:

Through professional selection, it discovered the cross-cultural potential of works; through precise incubation, it optimized the stage design and narrative rhythm to better suit the tastes of international audiences; and through efficient international connections, it helpedBao Erget on top stages such as the Golden Dolphin International Puppet Art Festival, allowing the oriental charm of original Chinese children's drama to shine on a global scale.

As China's first resident art festival focused on the concept of‘family fun’,theOh！CastleFestivalin Topuhas gradually established a creative platform connecting international perspectives with local aesthetic education. Through artists’residency creationand exchanges, the festival promotes the prosperity and innovation of children's aesthetic education and provides a comprehensive space for global artists to create, exhibit, and collaborate.

In the future, Haimen will continue to emphasize the core role of original art in the city's cultural development, activelycultivatinga creative ecosystem and supporting more works embodying local characteristics and Chinese spirit to reach a broader stage.

【背景阅读】

海门东布洲国际艺术节原创偶剧《宝儿》惊艳国际舞台

幕落下，灯光渐亮。刚从《宝儿》奇幻剧情中走出的保加利亚观众，瞬间爆发出热烈掌声。在持续10分钟的欢呼与喝彩中，演员们一次次谢幕、返场，直至全场观众集体起立，掌声与赞叹声久久回荡在金海豚国际木偶艺术节的剧场内......

10月3日，由深圳市小橙堡文化传播有限公司、东布洲国际艺术节联合出品的小橙堡中国绘本系列代表作——装置交互创意偶剧《宝儿》在保加利亚金海豚国际木偶艺术节圆满完成国际首演。这部已在国内斩获多项艺术节奖项的原创佳作，以极具东方古典美学的艺术表达，将中国故事搬上国际舞台，让文化跨越时空与国度的恒久魅力，在异国剧场绽放光芒。

《宝儿》是中国著名绘本作家蔡皋创作的经典绘本作品，作品根据清代蒲松龄《聊斋志异》中的《贾儿》改编而成。该剧深挖中国传统文化内核，将剪纸的灵动、皮影的精巧、偶剧的趣味与戏曲的韵味巧妙融合，构建出充满东方意境的“戏台”。

从服装道具的纹样设计到舞台场景的意境营造，处处都浸润着东方哲学底蕴与人文精神，让保加利亚的大小观众直观感受到中国传统文化的独特魅力。

正跨越文化边界的，是故事中相通的情感与价值。《宝儿》“自我认同、爱与勇气”的普世主题，打破了艺术国界与文化壁垒，与全球观众对成长与坚韧的理解高度契合，成为连接情感和共鸣的桥梁。

为适配国际演出场景，剧组还对舞美进行全面重构——在保留东方核心美感的基础上精简体量，让舞台更显精巧灵动；同时创新主角宝儿的登场方式，让宝儿伴随可移动光源“无名鸟”一同“飞出”，动态光影交织的瞬间，抓住全场观众的注意力，实现了“传统意蕴”与“国际审美”的完美平衡。

演出过程中，剧场座无虚席。观众们时而屏息凝神，时而为角色的勇敢欢呼，仿佛被一同带入奇幻世界中，与宝儿共同经历喜怒哀乐。

正如导演刘科汉所言，“我相信，宝儿那盏油灯的光，会穿越语言与文化的边界。我也相信，当无名鸟飞向观众时，我们传递的不仅是光影，更是每个生命都听得懂的语言——关于爱，关于选择，关于直面一切的勇气。”

此次《宝儿》的国际首演，不仅是作品的成功破圈，更是出品方小橙堡与其搭建的东布洲国际艺术节协同发力，叩开国际市场大门的关键一步。依托东布洲国际艺术节与保加利亚金海豚国际木偶艺术节的深度联动，成功打通了从“国内孵化”到“国际呈现”的完整通道，为后续剧目出海树立了可复制的范式。

而《宝儿》的成功，亦离不开专业平台的赋能。海门东布洲国际艺术节作为连接中国创作与国际舞台的文化产业平台，在此过程中发挥了“摆渡人”的关键作用：

通过专业遴选，发掘出作品的跨文化潜力；借助精准孵化，优化舞美与叙事节奏，使其更贴合国际观众审美；并通过高效的国际对接，助力《宝儿》登上金海豚国际木偶艺术节等顶级舞台，让中国原创儿童剧的东方魅力得以在全球视野下绽放。

作为中国首个聚焦“合家欢”概念的驻地式艺术节，东布洲国际艺术节逐步构建起一个连接国际视野与本土美育的创意平台。该艺术节通过艺术家的驻地创作与交流，推动儿童美育事业的繁荣与创新，并为全球艺术家提供创作、展示与合作的综合空间。

未来，海门将持续重视原创艺术在城市文化发展中的核心作用，积极培育创意生态，支持更多具有本土特色与中国精神的作品从这片土地走向更广阔的舞台。