ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.08.008
Integrating Common Sense and Theoretical Frameworks in Theatre Performance Criticism—A Case Study of Peking Opera The Orphan of Zhao
Shutong Fan
Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
*Corresponding author: Shutong Fan
Published: August 26,2025
Abstract
In the digital age, theater criticism faces a critical dilemma: the fragmentation of emotional expressions and the alienation of academic discourse from public understanding. This study takes Peking Opera The Orphan of Zhao as a case study to investigate how the integration of common sense—grounded in human instincts such as survival, revenge, and protection of the young—and theoretical frameworks, including narratology, semiotics, and reception aesthetics, can deepen the practice of theater performance criticism. By systematically analyzing the synergistic relationship between audience instinctive resonance and struc-tured theoretical analysis, the research demonstrates that this fusion enriches the interpretation of theatrical works by balancing emotional engagement with rigorous deconstruction of narrative logic, symbolic coding, and reception mechanisms. The findings not only provide new methodological insights for contemporary theater criticism but also offer a practical model to bridge the gap between academic rigor and public accessibility, thereby revitalizing the role of criticism as a bridge between artistic creation and audience understanding.
Keywords
Common sense; Theoretical framework; Theatre performance criticism
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How to cite this paper
Integrating Common Sense and Theoretical Frameworks in Theatre Performance Criticism—A Case Study of Peking Opera The Orphan of Zhao
How to cite this paper: Shutong Fan. (2025) Integrating Common Sense and Theoretical Frameworks in Theatre Performance Criticism—A Case Study of Peking Opera The Orphan of Zhao. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(8), 1518-1523.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.08.008