Shakespeare gets a Chinese makeover

The National Theater of Britain will screen filmed versions of some of its best live productions in Chinese cinemas this summer - and audiences in the United Kingdom will be able to watch some groundbreaking Chinese productions in London.

Director Wang Xiaoying's Richard III will return to Shakespeare's Globe Theater for six shows from July 20 to 25.

In 2012, to celebrate the London Summer Olympics, the Globe Theater invited companies from around the world to perform the Bard's plays in 37 languages. National Theater of China made its debut in London and presented Richard III directed by Wang.

It was not all smooth sailing however. The shipping container containing all the Chinese troupe's costumes and props was held up by a storm and did not arrive in London on time. Wang and his actors had to select their costumes from a selection of black robes in the Globe Theater. But their performance won unexpected acclaim. UK newspaper The Guardian called it "a crisp, no-nonsense view of the play", and said "one's heart goes out to the National Theater of China."

Audiences were also drawn by the posters featuring actors wearing full-face masks and ornate robes.

Neil Constable, chief executive of the Globe Theater, enjoyed the play so much that he visited Beijing to watch the production in all its glory at the Capital Theater. After the show, Constable decided to invite the National Theater of China back to the Globe Theater.

It's hard to believe Richard III is 58-year-old Wang's first Shakespeare.

"Shakespeare is every director's must-do. I directed scenes from Othello and Hamlet when I studied at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. But the older I got, the more I was unsure about directing Shakespeare. I felt I was not ready until I developed my unique approach and understanding of the story," Wang says.

"When the Globe Theater invited me to do a play as a representative of Chinese theater, I felt it an opportunity to do a totally Chinese edition for a global audience."

The Globe Theater first wanted him to do Henry V. But Wang says he loves the Bard's tragedies, so he proposed to do either Macbeth, Richard III or Antony and Cleopatra.

Wang moves the story of British royalty to a Chinese palace but the personality of each character remains unchanged and the idea of fate is maintained.

"Shakespeare's hilarious horror-show of power and paranoia is timeless and universal and that's what I want to interpret in this Chinese adaption," says Wang.

To highlight the Chinese characteristics, Wang uses one table and two chairs which are unique props in the Peking Opera. Lady Anne is performed by a Peking Opera actress with a costume and performance styled on Peking Opera. A live band playing traditional Chinese percussion instruments accompanies the performance.

Some characters wear wooden full-face masks from nuoxi, a thousand-year-old opera popular in Southern China.

The back curtain features Chinese artist Xu Bing's "square-word calligraphy".

Xu devised a method of writing English words in rectangular arrangements that resemble Chinese characters. On the back curtain, you can see Xu's writing of such English words as "war", "desire", "destroy", "nightmare" and "curse" in Chinese-style calligraphy.