The Beijing People's Art Theatre concludes its second run of the play Orphan of the Zhao Family this evening at the Capital Theatre, marking a temporary end to the "Orphan" fad on the local stage.

This year Beijing theatre-goers enjoyed dozens of original plays and touring productions from abroad, despite a temporary slowdown during last spring's SARS outbreak.

The top attraction in terms of appeal was Orphan of the Zhao Family which saw separate versions of the play presented by the country's two leading companies, China National Drama Theatre and Beijing People's Art Theatre.

It has been called the season's most powerful clash, pitting two famed directors with different versions of story-telling and divergent interpretations of the same ancient tragedy of revenge.

The Beijing People's Art Theatre premiered the play in April, then opened its second run, which concludes tonight, on October 13.

The China National Drama Theatre had its production debut in Shanghai from October 1-3, then gave three performances at the Cultural Palace of Nationalities and 23 performances at the China Children's Theatre in Beijing, wrapping up on November 8.

Orphan of the Zhao Family is arguably the single most influential pre-19th century Chinese literary work in Europe. Voltaire and Goethe, along with Richard Hurd, William Hatchett and Arthur Murphy, all showed intensive interest in this "exotic” story.

The story revolves around Zhao Dun, a minister of the Jin Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), who is framed by a general named Tu'an Gu, who then kills all of the Zhao family except a 6-month-old baby, who is substituted by Cheng Ying, doctor of the Zhao family, with his own son.

Cheng raises the boy and has him acknowledge Tu'an Gu as his adoptive father so as to protect him from being discovered. Before his own death, Cheng finally tells the boy the whole story.

The play was first translated into French in 1734 by a Jesuit priest named Joseph Premaire, and then into other languages.

Voltaire, the well-known 18th century French writer, historian and philosopher, was deeply moved by the play and declared it a masterpiece, far superior to anything that had been produced in Europe at that time.

He adapted the story into his play The Orphan of China which was performed in Paris in 1758. In the preface to that work, Voltaire wrote that the story revealed how reason and intellect inevitably triumph over ignorance and barbarity.

Just as numerous directors have presented their own version of Hamlet, there have been many interpretations of Orphan of the Zhao Family. In China, the play has fascinated and challenged theatre troupes for hundreds of years, so it was no surprise when directors from the young and old generation tackled the drama again in 2003.

The China National Drama Theatre's version, from 35-year-old female director Tian Qinxin, is avant garde, poetic, cool and seen through the eyes of the common people. The Beijing People's Art Theatre's version, directed by 67-year-old master Lin Zhaohua, is realistic, magnificent, cruel and from a noble viewpoint.

Both productions are breath-taking and worthy of repeated viewing.

Tian acknowledges she felt pressure directing the same play as Lin -- who she calls "master" -- and that she contemplated giving up.

But many of her friends persuaded her, saying each director has his or her understanding of the known story and two versions at the same time would be a treat for theatre-goers.

"The most important thing is that, as a young cast and crew, we do not fear failure and we have passion for the story," Tian said.

Tian sums up her version of "Orphan" as "a combination of Braveheart and an ancient Chinese story called It Happened in the Spring and Autumn Period".

Her interpretation of the orphan is as follows: Before the age of 16 he does not know his mother, but he has a father and an adoptive father. Raised by the two men, he suddenly knows the truth without mentally accepting that his father is not his real father while his adoptive father is the one who kills his whole family.

The 16-year-old is confused. The family revenge leaves him with a heavy burden and he loses both "fathers" at the same time.

But Tian weakens the question of "to be or not to be". Instead, the orphan's crucial problem is how to survive alone and how to get on his own way after the two fathers die. So his last sentence is "From now on, I am an orphan".

Ultimately, Tian's version portrays the relationship between persons and calls for justice and trust.

"Trust has become somewhat fragile today, but we should not lose it," said Tian.

Cheng is the most important role in the story. The common conscientious doctor's life is changed by the orphan. He does not turn back when he is entrusted to save the boy, even though it leads to the death of his own son.

Ni Dahong, who plays Cheng, is the most impressive performer in the cast. Nobody can remain unmoved by his portrayal of Cheng, who staggers to die in the arms of the orphan after telling him the truth and saying "shamed," although he has endured humiliation for 16 years to save the orphan and even sacrifices his own son.

"He is such a good actor that he could attract your attention even by just standing on the stage silently," said Hang Cheng, the veteran drama critic with Beijing Youth Daily.

Tian said: "Ni is an actor of special appeal. He always has a surprise for you during rehearsal." She expected to work with him after their first co-operation in "Life and Death" four years ago.

"Orphan of the Zhao Family" is the first historical production by the China National Drama Theatre since its founding in 2001 as a combination of the China Youth Drama Theatre and China Experiment Drama Theatre. But the play is permeated with youthful vigour and packed with modern elements.

The characters are all dressed in costumes unrelated to the time frame, and their hair is dyed purple or brown.

The play progresses without breaks and the scenes shift naturally and slightly with simple, abstract movement.

Against the black curtain, the changes of lighting express the characters' inner mood as well as the dramatic plot and intense atmosphere. Purple indicates growing selfish desires, dark blue tells the volatile politic situation, red symbolizes bleeding slaughter, and yellow suggests the indulgence of carnal pleasures.

In the cast, besides Ni and Han Tongsheng as Tu'an Gu, most of the performers such as Zhai Xiaoxing as the orphan, Xin Baiqing and Zhang Rui as Zhuang Ji, the orphan's mother, are young and talented.

Zhang Rui, who portrays Zhuang Ji, has a good sense of body language that is exactly what Tian requires from her performers.

As was the case in most of Tian's previous works, she wrote the script herself. The lines sound beautiful and poetic.

Jiang Jinghong, professor with China Academy of Traditional Chinese Opera, scores very impressive and delicate music for the play, deftly applying subtle colour to the dramatic and emotional scenes.

(China Daily November 20, 2003)