The drama “Four generations under one roof” will debut at Sun Yet-Sen Memorial Hall in Tapei on October 27th, the first time Laoshe’s masterpiece will appear on the stage after 60 years.
Tian Qinjin, a Beijing director, wants to accomplish two goals through the show: to present the hutong culture of Beijing to everybody, and is to let the Taiwan audiences feel the love of family and country of the Chinese people before 1949. The Memorial Hall will be decorated to create the atmosphere of old Beijing. Some of the old Beijing’s craftsmanship and folk arts will be displayed there, and people can also taste the various kinds of street food of Beijing.
Although organizers haven’t announced who will perform, journalists have heard that some famous actors like Lei Quesheng, Sun Honglei, Han Tongsheng, Ni Dahong, Qin Hailu, Zhu Yuanyuan and Tao Hong are expected to appear in the drama.
“Four generations under one roof” depicts fall of Beijing. The work has been twice revised into TV series.
Tian says that the most difficult part is to revise the 850,000-word novel into a 20,000-word drama played in two hours. She also says that she will produce two versions of the play, a Taipei version and a Beijing version. The Taipei version will feature actors from that city.
After the debut in Taipei, the drama will tour around many cities of China, and return to Beijing Tianqiao Theater in January, 2011.
Edited and Translated by Yang Yi
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