Revenge classic retold in grey instead of black & white

IN traditional storytelling, you know exactly who the heroes and villains are. Such was the case in Savage Land, by China's renowned modernist playwright Cao Yu, which was written 50 years ago. But in its current contemporary reimagination, that distinction between good and bad has been written out.

In the original play, Jiao Daxing and Chouhu are childhood friends - until Jiao's father, Yanwang, causes the death of Chouhu's parents, seizes their land, sends Chouhu to prison, and causes his sister to become a prostitute. After Chouhu's exile, Jiao marries Chouhu's former sweetheart, Hua Jinzi, and they have a son, Xiao Heizi. Chouhu returns for revenge once he gets out of jail.

Chen Xinyi - a veteran director of Cao Yu's works - pondered over this particular script for a long time, she says. In past stagings, Jiao Daxing had always been portrayed negatively, in order to emphasise that Chouhu's sweetheart, Hua Jinzi, should not have married him.