Staging a revival
The play, produced by Beijing Yongle Lifeng Culture company and Enjoy Troupe, was originally a student project Le wrote and directed in 2013.
It was initiated by the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art of the United Kingdom to present Shakespeare's plays with Peking Opera.
Le, who founded Enjoy Troupe, was then working on her master's degree at the national academy, studying drama and TV directing. When she read Macbeth, she recognized the universal theme of human desire.
Commonalities between Macbeth and many tragic characters in ancient China started to emerge-many gave up their moral principles in the pursuit of power and then were tortured by their consciences.
Le, therefore, chose the stories of Zhao Guangyi, who murdered his brother and usurped the throne, and Gongsun Zidu, a legendarily handsome general, who killed a fellow general out of jealousy.
The present production is a version modified especially for a small audience. While the characters share similarities, the director chose to represent them in different types of Peking Opera roles, each requiring unique performance techniques.
