Play spotlights personal struggle of women in rural China

A woman is seen walking toward a spotlight onstage under which a circle is drawn in sand.

"You are back. You must be tired. Have a good rest and we can talk tomorrow," the actress tells the actor who plays her husband.

"It's been 18 years. I want a divorce," the actor responds after a long silence.

As the story develops, they walk back and forth, and emotions erupt.

During a recent night at the Drum Tower West Theater, a cozy venue in downtown Beijing, a media preview of Chinese playwright Wan Fang's new play, The New Wilderness, was staged.

The play will premiere at the city's Poly Theater in September before kicking off a national tour.

Set in rural China from the 1950s to '70s, the play focuses on a woman called Liu Tuan, whose husband, Ju Sheng, returns home after nearly 20 years wanting a divorce. The woman ends up killing her husband's mother, Fu Xian, in frustration.

Based on Wan's 1994 novel, Murder, the play also depicts the relationship between the two main female characters who lived in the same house for two decades.

"They went through hardships, like poverty, bad marriages and yet longed for happiness. These two roles also mirror many women's lives in reality, who have to endure and survive," says Wan, in her 60s. "Even nowadays, in modern China, women suffer from inequality and disadvantages in their lives."

The title of the play will remind the audience of The Wilderness, a masterpiece by Wan's late father Cao Yu, a renowned Chinese playwright who founded Beijing People's Art Theater.

The late dramatist had written his third play, The Wilderness, 80 years ago. It is a story about revenge in the Chinese countryside. It revolves around a man, Chou Hu, who escapes from prison to kill a local villager who ruined his family. During the past decades, the play has been adapted into several versions by the same theater group.

Unlike The Wilderness, which has the lead character committing suicide in the end, Wan leaves an open ending for The New Wilderness, which allow room for audience imagination.

"Is Liu Tuan dead or moving on with her life? I hope the audience will have its own interpretation of the story's end," says Wan, adding that her play isn't linked to her father's work but takes the name only in the hope of showing her family connection with him.

"I was very excited when I read the script, which gives a voice to women. In fact, the female characters in the play have a real life somewhere," says veteran actress Wang Ji, 55, who plays the role of Liu Tuan.

"The story jumps from objective reality to the subjective mood of Liu Tuan. The long lines are also challenging for the actors," she adds.

After training with Beijing People's Art Theater in 1980, Wang has done theater, TV series and movies.

Chinese actress Feng Xianzhen from the National Theater of China plays the role of the mother, Fu Xian, and the young actor Yan Nan plays the husband, Ju Sheng.

The play's producer Wang Keran says the script was completed two years ago and to fully present the female perspective, he spent a long time looking for a proper director for the work.

He finally found Lithuanian award-winning theater director Ramune Kudzmanaite to direct it.

"This play is not just about Chinese women but also about women worldwide," says Kudzmanaite, who says she will stage the play in her country, too.

She uses folk music of China and Lithuania in the play.

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn