A Compound under Quarantine, a star-studded modern drama, debuted in Beijing's Capital Theatre on Friday night. Featuring a wide-ranging cast from the Beijing People's Art Theatre, the play reveals how ordinary citizens used humor to keep going during the epidemic.

An old Chinese scholar-tree, a gray-tiled roof, and an ordinary courtyard -- the modern drama raises its curtain on a typical old Beijing compound. The controversy explodes at the very beginning: one of the households is infected with SARS, and everyone is thrown into a panic. To make matters worse, the compound is locked down.

With nothing to do and nowhere to go, the households gradually begin to enjoy their restricted life. Past controversies and bad relationships between neighbors begin to relax.

Though the plot does not seem very complicated, the audience had no chance to relax. The Beijing-dialect dialogue, Beijingers' unique sense of humor and the true-to-life performance brought deafening laughter and applause time after time.

73-year-old Zhu Xu is one of the oldest and most experienced actors in China. After a decade's absence from the stage, he's now returned to show everyone just how impressive a performance he can deliver.

“I endured many epidemics when I was young, and I saw the tragic deaths of many people with my own eyes. But during the SARS period, everyone, both the sick and the healthy received good care. I was deeply impressed, which is why I'm back on the stage,” said Zhu Xu.

He Bing, a pure Beijing taxi driver in the play, is another highlight for the audience. His crisp Beijing dialect and garrulous sense of humor won him the most cheers and laughs of anyone in the play.

“I always pay attention to ordinary people's lives and language, so I can imitate them precisely. I only had a month to prepare for the show but everybody was devoted to the project. People still haven't had time to review their life under SARS. So I think it's best to portray it with laughter,” said He Bing.

The realistic drama, which highlights many other remarkable artists including Pu Cunxin, Gong Lijun and Yue Xiuqing is on stage until mid September. The audiences rewarded the artists cheers and flowers. Maybe they were also giving these to themselves for the courage they had under the threat of SARS.

(CCTV.com August 11, 2003)