Theatertreffen Berlin, or the Berlin Theater Festival in English, began in 1964, and is one of the most important cultural events in German speaking countries. Now the event is being held in China for the first time. Three "most noteworthy" productions from last year's festival, "Common Ground", "John Gabriel Borkman" and "Waiting for Godot", will be shown to Chinese theater goers from June to July. For copyright reasons, media outlets are not allowed to film the performances. But Culture Express was given exclusive footage of the rehearsals right before the Asian premiere of "Common Ground"on Tuesday.

German speaking plays are unique on the world stage, and renowned for their calm, rational, and speculative qualities. And "Common Ground" is no exception.

Theatertreffen Berlin, or the Berlin Theater Festival in English, began in 1964, and is one of the most important cultural events in German speaking countries. Now the event is being held in China for the first time.

All the actors and actresses of this play are immigrants or their descendants. Pop and rock hits of past eras, clips of breaking news, and ads and films may form the background to monologues...but what's narrated on stage are the true stories of those taking part....stories which we can all relate to at some level.

"It might be challenging for Chinese audience to see German plays ... but human experiences are common ..." said Yael Ronen,"Common Ground" director.

The Berlin Theater Festival is acclaimed as one of the three top theater festivals in the world, along with the Avignon Festival and Edinburgh Arts Festival. Each year a jury committee handpicks ten noteworthy works from over 400 new productions in the previous season to be showcased at the festival.

And from this year on, three of the selected pieces will be shown in China. The selection criteria aims to demonstrate the diversity and modernity of Germany's theatrical creations, and to present current issues, debates, and stage work trends from the country to a new fanbase.

Organizers are excited about the theater exchanges...and the possibilities for EVEN more collaboration...

"The festival itself is 50 years old so it has a long history of bringing various plays all together. And I think theater history in China is maybe 100 years old. Personally I prefer traditional Peking Opera because it is something we don't have...global communication..." said Thomas Oberender, Berliner Festspiele director.

A line-up of 12 performances will be shown in Beijing and Shanghai until July 9th. And an extensive accompanying program featuring public talks, lectures, discussions, and workshops will bring together local audience members and theater professionals with German artists.