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An instant classic

By Chen Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-09 11:12

Wotou Compound depicts the lives of ordinary Beijingers in 1948, one year before the founding of New China.

Beijing People's Art Theater (BPAT) has gone back to its roots with a realistic drama reminiscent of former productions such as Teahouse (1957) and Top Restaurant (1988).

Written by Liu Heng, directed by Lin Zhaohua and performed by an A-list cast, Wotou Compound (Wotou Huiguan) is intended to be an instant classic for the 57-year-old company and turn back the tide, after struggling since the early 1990s.

Like most of BPAT's trademark plays, Wotou Compound depicts the lives of ordinary Beijingers in a typical community at a crucial time, to reflect social change.

Wotou Compound is a poor residential area in south Beijing that houses four families facing a daily struggle for survival because of the imposition of unfair taxes and levies.

The play's three acts include scenes from a summer's day, an autumn evening and a winter night, all in 1948, one year before the founding of New China.

In the lead role is Yuan Guozhong (He Bing), who has bought Wotou Compound some 30 years previously from Gu Yuezong (Pu Cunxin), with a large and mysterious sum of money. Yuan's infant son has tuberculosis.

In the same compound are a poor quack doctor's family and another family headed by a small-time trader. The quack's wife (Xu Fan) was formerly a Qing princess and often quarrels with the trader's wife (Song Dandan), a prostitute.

As an honest man who makes every effort to treat his son's illness but is misunderstood by the boy, He's character commands the stage. Pu, who usually plays a handsome Mr Right character, transforms himself into a bent old man who coughs while he speaks. Actresses Xu and Song, both popular in TV shows and movies, give enchanting performances.

After the premiere of the play on Sept 29, the playwright Liu stepped onto the stage and used the word "great" to describe BPAT, the director and the actors. He made a deep bow to the actors, hugged the director Lin and threw a bouquet of flowers at the president of BPAT, Zhang Heping, who was sitting in the front row.

"The play on stage is better than I penned it. The actors' performances made my story shine. I was totally amazed by the power of the drama," Liu said after the show.

Liu is a big name in the movie industry and has a long list of award-winning and box-office hits under his belt, including Assembly and Talkative Zhang Damin's Happy Life.

Director Zhang Yimou says Liu is probably the only playwright in China who can successfully transfer a story from stage to film; while director Feng Xiaogang says Liu is just one of two or three playwrights whose scripts require little or no revision before shooting.

Surprisingly, this is the first time Liu has written a drama for the stage. He admitted that on opening night he was upset before the curtain opened and only relaxed when the audience cheered at the end.

"I've written many movies and TV shows but writing a play is different. Writing for TV is like a bricklayer building a wall. Writing a movie is like a carpenter making furniture, while creating the script for a drama is like being a sculptor, one of the most demanding and delicate jobs," Liu says.

"Wotou Compound met people's expectations, which encourages me to write more dramas in the future."

It was Liu's long-time friend Zhang Heping who commissioned Liu to write a play for BPAT to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China and to revive the theater's unique Beijing style of realistic dramas.

"I came to BPAT on Nov 23, 2007. I felt so honored to be a member of this prestigious theater. It has such a great repertoire, like Teahouse and Thunderstorm, that few later works could surpass them. But I did not come here just to admire the works of masters, but also to inherit the legacy and pass it on," Zhang says.

"I shared my thoughts with company members as soon as I arrived here and Wotou Compound is our answer."

Liu is a 55-year-old Beijinger who lives in the southern part of the city and is well acquainted with the lives of ordinary people in these communities.

Director Lin Zhaohua

"It is a somewhat political commission but I don't want to sing an empty song to celebrate the founding of the new country," Liu says.

"Regimes changed due to extreme unfairness of resources distribution. Those who are in dire straits must fight to overthrow the old dynasty and promote social development. So if you ask, 'What is the theme of the play?' it is one word: money," Liu says.

"BPAT's unique Beijing style covers old Beijing customs, the hard lives of those people who live at the bottom of society, and the wisdom, humor and vulgarity of ordinary people."

Of course, the play also features old dialect from the capital city which even some young Beijingers cannot understand. Liu's long lines of dialogue challenge not only the actors but also audience members, who seldom hear today the old slang and idioms.

Wotou Compound is running at the Capital Theater until Nov 8.