By merging the former China National Youth Theater and China Central Experimental Theater, the National Theater Company of China (NTCC) -- a State-level performing art troupe of the People's Republic of China -- was established on December 25, 2001.

With a great number of excellent drama talents on stage and in the film and television industry, the theater carries on its time-honored traditions, explores new techniques and continues to create top-quality dramas. Under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping's theory and Jiang Zeming "Three Represents," the theater insists on the notion that art serves the people and endeavors to produce and stage dramas of high quality both in China and abroad to disseminate an advanced culture around the world.

The theater has created and performed five major dramas since its establishment: "Dawns Here Are Quiet (Former USSR)" "The Crucible (USA)," "The Visit (Switzerland)," "Head Without Tail" and "Call Me Brother." The theater has also organized some repertoires for international art festivals and drama exchanges in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macao and Japan.

In the future, the National Theater of China will establish and consummate a scientific and creative management system to provide an open stage for new creations by talented dramatists, and continue to explore new ways to develop drama so that new faces, plays and elaborate works can abound.

The theater is headed by its current president Zhao Youliang and the vice-presidents Zhou Yuyuan, Huang Xiling and Wang Xiaoying. Yang Zongjing is the chief art supervisor.

Address: No A-45, Mao'er Hutong, Di'anmen, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Telephone/Tax: (010) 64031009

-- Exploring Humanity's Dark Side: The Crucible

In 1692, a witch hunt haunted Salem Village in the United States. Some young girls singing and dancing in the forest began experiencing strange fits, and witchcraft was identified as the cause. Subsequently, apologists established a religious court where a group of adherents were identified as "devils" and put in prison or even hanged.

American dramatist Arthur Miller produced a play in 1953, The Crucible -- one of his representative works of realism based on the story. However, the most crucial point in his drama is not to demonstrate the sad scenario of the wrongful verdicts but to  venture deep into the struggles of the characters.

The National Theatre Company of China staged the drama The Crucible on October 9, 2003 in Shanghai, winning much applause from audiences. The main conflict in the drama surrounds a farmer, John Protor, who chooses to die rather than to blacken his own name and others of the community.

The drama featured a massive, two-layer wooden frame and five huge dummies and thick bowstrings that suddenly appeared at the center of the stage, accompanied by a shrieking symphony. Director Wang Xiaoying and stage designer Liu Kedong used various techniques to make audience members wonder: "When the gallows are hung high above your head, what would you cling to - lies or honesty?"

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