Giving the bard a common touch

Chinese director Li Liuyi

"What I want to do with this play is to make Shakespeare accessible and easy to comprehend for Chinese audiences."

Li, a Chinese director and playwright of the Beijing People's Art Theater, has been to the United Kingdom twice to visit the Royal Shakespeare Company－mainly to discuss the script with Shakespeare experts.

He says that his visits made him realize that, for the stage adaptation, it is important to translate Shakespeare's plays without too much poetic and literary decoration.

Explaining his motivation for doing the play, he says: "This year marks the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death, as well as that of Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu. We are celebrating these two great playwrights. But, how do we make their works relevant for contemporary audiences? That's a question I want to answer with this play."

Pu Cunxin, a Chinese actor and the deputy director of the Beijing People's Arts Theater, plays King Lear, while actresses Lu Fang, Zhao Qian and Wan Qianhui play the king's three daughters.

Speaking about his role, Pu, 63, says: "It's a wonderful challenge for actors to do a profound tragedy like King Lear, and it is exciting for the audience to see how they tackle the script, which is from another time and another culture.