In the drama A Maiden's Banquet, a young woman quizzes three men to uncover her father's identity. Provided to China Daily

Beijing

Die-hard drama fans will be delighted to watch A Maiden's Banquet, the debut work of Shangquan Troupe, to be staged in Beijing next week.

The play revolves around a 20-year-old woman, who invites three painters to dinner at an expensive restaurant, as she tries to uncover her father's identity. The men, all close friends of her late mother, rebuff her at first because of her seeming lack of money.

When she tells them she is actually the general manager of a leading painting auction house, they immediately badmouth one other and each man tries to claim her as his daughter.

"A painting auction company can make a painter wealthy overnight. They can't resist the money, start to speak ill of each other and lie. It's one side of human nature," says the director, Gu Haoran, 24. "Sometimes we have no choice in life, because a choice may change one's entire life."

It is a story about love between lovers and family members, as well as how people help each other in difficult times.

"I'm sure those born in the 1960s will be touched when they watch the three men reminisce about the past," says Yang Lixin, the play's artistic advisor and a national artist with the Beijing People's Art Theater.

The troupe, established only a few months ago, has adapted the style of the Beijing People's Art Theater, which focuses on a good script and vividly emotional acting.

"Our play is traditional and purely dependent on the artists' performance," says Gu, an alumni of the renowned Central Academy of Drama. "The stage just has one desk and four chairs, and music is used only at the beginning and in the end. It seems to be a disadvantage, but it's our unique character."

You can contact the writer at xulin@chinadaily.com.cn.