Chinese adaptations hit center stage in festival

The Chinese-language premiere of Australian playwright Suzie Miller's internationally acclaimed play Inter Alia will be the centerpiece of the 2026 National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) International Theatre Festival in Beijing, which opens on June 12.

The production, directed by Zhou Ke and starring actress Yao Chen and actor Bao Jianfeng, will run during the festival from July 23 to 26 before embarking on a nationwide tour.

According to Zhao Fei, the deputy director of the NCPA's performance department, this year's festival is set to bring an unprecedented scale: 136 days, more than 100 performances, and 26 productions from China, Russia, France, Chile, and other countries and regions.

The festival brings together world-class artists spanning classical masterpieces, contemporary theater, youth works, and experimental performance. It will be held across five major venues, including the NCPA and the Beijing Performing Arts Centre, with four curated sections. At a launch event on June 3, festival organizers highlighted both the international and domestic strength of the program.

Inter Alia stands out as a Chinese-language adaptation of Miller's legal trilogy, following her global hit Prima Facie, a powerful one-woman play, which Zhou adapted in 2023.

In the Chinese production, Yao, who is known for her roles in movies and TV dramas, will take on the lead role of Jessica, a judge caught between her professional and personal lives, which are torn apart by an unexpected accusation against her son.

According to Bian Changzhe, the producer of the Chinese adaptation of Inter Alia, Miller, who sent a video message at the launch, emphasized that the play addresses universal female experiences and the ways individuals navigate multiple identities. She expressed confidence that the Chinese adaptation would resonate with audiences and bring the play's emotional power to life.

The festival's international highlights include Russian director Lev Abramovich Dodin's return to China with Chekhov's Three Sisters after a nine-year hiatus, and Mary Said What She Said, starring French actress Isabelle Huppert.

The Chinese drama section will showcase both traditional and contemporary domestic works, such as Love in a Fallen City, adapted from Eileen Chang's classic novella of the same title, which will open the festival; the Tianjin People's Art Theatre's Thunderstorm; and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre's The Song of Everlasting Sorrow.

"I have performed at the NCPA many times, but the upcoming shows are special to me because they mark both my first solo play and my debut as a playwright," says veteran actress Zhao Qian, who will bring her monodrama titled Her Way Home to the festival from July 9 to 12.

For nearly three decades, Zhao carried a dream that many actors share but few attempt: performing a solo play.

"The seed was planted very early," says the actress, who joined what is now the National Theatre of China after graduating from the Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1997. When years passed without finding the right script, Zhao took an unexpected step. While cleaning her home in late 2023, a thought suddenly came to her: why not write it herself?

The result is Her Way Home. Part memoir, part a love letter to life, the work intertwines the stories of three generations of women — her grandmother, mother and herself — against the backdrop of family, migration and memory. Reflecting on the impulse that set the project in motion, Zhao quotes a line from the play: "Fate is like two invisible hands pushing your back and urging you forward."

Traditional Chinese opera will also be highlighted during the upcoming festival.

What happens behind the glittering crowns and helmets of Peking Opera? Helmet, or kuitou in Chinese, a new Peking Opera-inspired drama directed by and starring Song Tianshuo, turns the spotlight on the artisans rarely seen by audiences but essential to the art form's survival.

Named after the elaborate headpieces worn by Peking Opera performers, the production, which will be staged during the festival from Sept 11 to 13, follows a traditional craftsman navigating a changing world, where old and young generations often clash over the meaning of cultural inheritance.

"My father and my grandfather both worked in a Peking Opera troupe and took care of these kuitou. Only insiders truly understand how much skill and mystery lie behind everything from making a headpiece to wearing it onstage. Through the story of a craftsman, we wanted to explore how different generations view traditional culture today," says playwright Song Yan, a veteran Peking Opera actor and head of the Beijing Fenglei Peking Opera Company.

Created by the father-son duo, who will also appear on stage together, Helmet is as much about family as it is about craftsmanship. While generational tensions drive the story, both characters are united by a common purpose: ensuring that a treasured craft is passed on.

The production, the troupe's ninth work blending spoken dialogue with Peking Opera, delivers a timely message. "Tradition is not a specimen locked away on display," Song Yan says. "It is something alive, breathing in the present."

Alongside performances, the festival offers a rich series of educational and interactive activities: masterclasses, workshops, open rehearsals, artist talks, and backstage tours, giving audiences an opportunity to engage with the creative process.