A Chinese cop chases Jack the Ripper

Chen's exaggerated style of physical comedy and humorous Beijing dialect dialogues keeps audiences in stitches.

He behaves like an obsessive-compulsive disorder patient, and suspects everyone related to the case. The more he questions a suspect, the funnier it gets because his logic is always faulty.

The stage detective even thinks Jack might be a woman who hates prostitutes because they corrupt men, or a journalist who wanted to be famous and made up news. It's strange that such lame arguments sounds quite reasonable when Chen talks about them in earnest.

Robert was confused that his boss asked him to kill a man who is not the Ripper to close the case hurriedly. He turned to the famous detective Sherlock Holmes for help, but went to pieces when he found out Holmes was just a fictional character.

In the end, his wife became a victim and the government wanted to pay him a great amount of money so that he would keep it a secret. What should he - or any of us - choose in this dilemma? To be honest to one's heart or to be manipulated by others?

The crew will soon tour around China when the Beijing performances end. In the summer of 2014, they will go to The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, one of the world's largest arts festivals, to present the Chinese version of the famous British case to the local audiences.

xulin@chinadaily.com.cn