When two giants of modern Chinese theatre meet...

Two great Chinese theatre-makers tell five stories of old Peking

Lao She, a giant of 20th century literature, is regarded a most important Chinese playwright and novelist, whose writing is permeated by a uniquely Chinese flavour and whose vivid portraits of ordinary people reveal a deep sympathy for their plight. His seminal play Teahouse is an undisputed masterpiece and classic of all time.

Lin Zhaohua, arguably China's most influential theatre director today, and an expert on Lao She, brings the writer's most memorable short stories to the stage for the first time. Five stories about ordinary people in Chinese society in the 1930s and 1940s are transformed into a moving drama of human passions, of corruption and redemption.

Don't miss this groundbreaking collaboration of the best minds of Chinese theatre!

Five stories of old Peking

Ménage à Trois is a psychological rollercoaster about two war buddies who decide to share one woman as wife.

Fruit follows the destructive affair between an aspiring amateur actor eager to turn professional and the man who helps him.

Assuming Office boldly reveals the tension and tenuous boundaries between criminals and those in authority.

Liu's Compound chronicles an ill-fated girl's road to suicide under the constant bullying of her husband and in-laws.

The Death Dealing Spear recounts the dwindling fortune of an armed escort after the introduction of firearms.

Shu Yi (Lao She), 宏偉 (Lin Zhaohua), Illustration: 丁聰

Ménage à Trois
Fruit
Assuming Office
Liu's Compound
The Death Dealing Spear

Produced by
POLOARTS Entertainment Co. Ltd.
Lin Zhaohua Drama Studio

Five Short Stories in Search of a Director: Adapting Lao She for the Stage
by Shu Yi

Born in 1899, Lao She has written 10 plays when he turned 50, the year the People's Republic of China was founded. Between 1949 and his death in 1966, he wrote ferociously for the stage, adding a staggering amount - 40 plays - to his name. Among these were major contributions to the Chinese theatre canon, such as Teahouse and Dragon Whiskers Gulch, while some were less memorable. The sheer volume could be attributed to his hard work and dedication, but most importantly, it showed how much Lao She enjoyed writing for theatre.

Lao She is second to none in the number of times his works has been dramatised. This literary giant could comfortably claim, among modern Chinese writers, to have the most works staged and adapted for the big screen and television.

Many of his novels were adapted for the stage, notably Rickshaw Boy, Crescent Moon and Beneath the Red Banner. They have also been made and re-made into films and television series. The works of Lao She are not only staples of dramatic repertoires in the Chinese-speaking world, they also are an indispensable part of China's moving image history.

Strangely enough, no one has yet attempted to adapt his short stories. I have suggested that as a possibility to screen and stage writers on many occasions. For me, my father's short stories are untapped, fertile and promising grounds for cultivating good scripts.

First, there is a wealth of materials. In the 1930s and 1940s, he published six volumes of novellas and short stories. A seventh volume was posthumously published. It is a sizeable collection of 71 works, out of which 67 are short stories. His short stories are not vignettes; they are sharply written, complete narratives with a beginning, middle and an end, driven by rounded characters.

Second, he was particularly fond of his short stories. One of his favourite was The Death Dealing Spear - when he was in the US, he turned the story into a play for the local university students. He also adapted Monsieur Culottes into the one-act play, Mr Mighty on the Train.

With quality writing in abundance, it is only a matter of time before the short stories find a director. Finally, one arrived on the scene!

Towards the end of 2008, I ran into stage director Lin Zhaohua and producer Wang Xiang at a performance of Kun opera The Peony Pavilion in Beijing. I again pitched the short stories for stage adaptation. A few days later, they came to my house and asked for recommendations!

I made a short list from which they chose five stories - The Death Dealing Spear, Fruit, Ménage à Trois, Liu's Compound and Assuming Office. And they call the production - Five Acts of Life - Lao She's Short Stories.

Then, even better news came. The selection will premiere in March at the 2010 Hong Kong Arts Festival!

No matter how the production is received, it ushers in a new epoch in interpreting my father's works. It will be a pioneering effort, a trendsetting event, revealing that the short stories are goldmines waiting for playwrights and screenwriters to quarry and are ripe for dramatic re-enactment.

From content to context, Lao She's short stories are bursting with dramatic effects and visual details. Simply for that, I think Five Acts of Life is worth cheering about. Hats off to the director.

Translated by Ed Wong

Shu Yi is the son of Lao She and literary consultant to Five Acts of Life. He is currently a Fellow of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History.