Revival of 40s comedy

Pretending love while scheming for money-sound familiar? A 1940s stage hit about a poor guy posing as a rich overseas Chinese to land a bride returns to the Shanghai stage tonight as "What Was True Has Become False."

Modern audiences will relate to the old-Shanghai-style play about a poor guy who pretends to be a rich returned overseas Chinese, setting his cap for a wealthy wife and dating two women.

Presented by the Shanghai Drama Arts Center and the Shanghai Farce Troupe, it is the second old-Shanghai-style production revived by the two institutions, and more are in store.

Last year's successful "The Sparrow and the Crow" was adapted from a 1940s black-and-white movie. Three more such plays will be produced by the end of 2010, according to Yang Xinwei, director of both plays.

The play narrates the ironic "love story" of Zhou Dazhang, a poor, handsome young fellow who wants to change his fortune through marriage. Dating two girls at the same time, he pretends to be a well-educated young man from a well-off company, who has just returned from overseas.

He easily wins the hearts of both, however, all his efforts are in vain after a series of miscalculations and coincidences. Zhou's own clever schemes and manipulations lead to his downfall.

"I am surprised to find so many similarities between Zhou and today's young people, especially their attitudes towards marriage and money," Yang says. "They dream of becoming rich overnight, and some of them are even more than willing to trade love for money."

The original work vividly depicts a group of typical civilians living in the 1940s, against the backdrop of China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).

"It is not just a simple, entertaining love story," the director adds. "It tells about individuals' lives in a historically hard period of time, while managing to represent them in a delightful, humorous way."

According to him, there will be several war-related scenes, featuring burned trees, bomb explosions and plane crashes.

Playwright Yang is famous for her writing style, which balances comedy and objective reporting - she also wrote the second gem of contemporary Chinese comedy, "As You Wish."

Married to renowned Chinese scholar/novelist Qian Zhongshu (1910-98), the Oxford graduate and translator herself is a high-profile scholar. Apart from popular comedy plays and novels such as "The Bath" and "We Three," she translated and introduced "Don Quixote" to China.

Currently living in Beijing, the 96-year-old is "grateful and excited" about the premiere of "What Was True Has Become False" after more than 60 years, according to the director. The literary master also wrote a letter expressing wishes for success of the new production.

Date: November 22-24, 7:30pm
Address: 288 Anfu Rd
Tickets: 100-200 yuan
Tel: 962-288, 021-64730123/64734567