Sunrise shines again at the Cao Yu Theater

A scene from the latest version of Sunrise directed by Feng Yuanzheng. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Sunrise was the first play staged by the Beijing People's Art Theater on Sept 24, 1956. It is about people from all walks of life and their struggles and failures in urban China during the 1930s. A courtesan named Chen Bailu is the story's central figure.

Written by Cao Yu, one of the greatest playwrights of 20th century China, Sunrise was published in 1936.

An adaptation of the classic directed by Feng Yuanzheng is currently being staged at the Cao Yu Theater until March 24.

A scene from the latest version of Sunrise directed by Feng Yuanzheng. [Photo provided to China Daily]

It first premiered as the opening play of the Cao Yu Theater in 2021 and to date, has been staged three times.

"It has become popular with the young audience thanks to our young actors and new stage design," says Feng, who played one of the leading roles in an adaptation of Sunrise staged in 2000.

"I am very glad that Wan Fang, Cao Yu's daughter and a dramatist herself, likes the production very much. She told me that she found it fresh, which surprised her," he says.

A scene from the latest version of Sunrise directed by Feng Yuanzheng. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A scene from the latest version of Sunrise directed by Feng Yuanzheng. [Photo provided to China Daily]