The drama "A Parody", by renowned Chinese director Lin Zhaohua for the first time, was on the Belgian stage earlier this month. The play made its debut at the Belgium National Theatre on Nov 6, 2009, with Zhang Yuanyuan, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium, in attendance.

Based on the collection Old Tales Retold by Lu Xun, "A Parody" tells seven surreal stories with Forging the Swords as the main theme. Instead of using subtitles, Director Li used a local actor as the interpreter in the Forging the Swords act. During the show, Chinese traditional opera and modern dance were also presented on stage, which was an impressive set-up with four large stoves, a chimney, and 70 tons of coal.

As the premiere of a Chinese play in the EU capital, the show marked a cornerstone and was well-received with many curtain calls. However some said it would have been better if Chinese was the only language used in the play.

By Xia Ling