The tide of history

Feng says that when he first played the role of Uncle Zhu, he put in a lot of effort to contemplate, design and enact the character. At the time, Lai told him the character is someone from the northern part of China. In his experience of growing up in his village, many residents were from Shandong province, so he chose to adopt the Shandong accent for the character.

"I've played this character for 16 years. Now that I've turned 60, I feel that I've become Uncle Zhu. This transformation has been a wonderful experience for me, both as an actor and as a person. I've worked hard to portray a character, and to truly embody him over more than 10 years," Feng says.

Si Wen, a young actress with Theatre Above, has performed many roles in Lai's classic plays. She says that for this tour, the rehearsals have allowed her to work together with and learn from the veteran theater practitioners.