Before the Beijing People's Art Theatre (BPAT) premiered "The South Courtyard in the North Lane" on Friday evening at the Capital Theatre, local theatre-goers were reluctant to see a play about SARS.

Having been physically and mentally exhausted by the epidemic this spring and early summer, Beijingers were not in the mood to revisit their experiences.

However, the reputation of BPAT and the cast it has assembled for its latest work - on SARS - have drawn them in nonetheless.

As director Ren Ming promised his audience, "it is not a play for the sake of creating something about the SARS episode... it's part of the repertoire of BPAT and will be even when, someday, you have forgotten SARS."

And Ren has honoured his words. The play inherits BPAT's distinctive theatrical tradition and style, although at an artistic level, it is not as impressive as some of BPAT's signature repertoire works such as "Tea House" and "A Farmer's Nirvana."

After winning praise from its premiere audience, "The South Courtyard in the North Lane" will run till September 14 (except on Mondays).

Established in 1952, BPAT tries to produce plays which reflect the times and tell the life stories of ordinary people.

"Generations of artists with BPAT have believed life is the source of creativity. Closely observing common people's lives is the only way of understanding their feelings and of producing a play that touches their hearts," said critic He Xilai.

"Longxu Slum" (1953), the first full-length play produced by BPAT, compares the lives of residents in a Beijing lane called Longxugou before and after the founding of the People's Republic in 1949.

"Song to the Red Heart (Danxin Pu)" (1978) is one of the first political plays to recount ordinary people's defiance of the extreme left policies by the Gang of Four during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

Setting each scene during the great political or social upheavals from 1949 to 1980, "Xiaojing Lane" (1980) follows for three decades the lives of residents in a small lane in the capital Beijing. The play offers an insight into changing attitudes and relationships over periods of stability and chaos.

BPAT's latest work, "The South Courtyard in the North Lane" embraces this tradition and seeks a realism in its script and acting.

Set in a true-to-life siheyuan in a hutong on a revolving stage, the play vividly depicts people's experiences over the course of the SARS outbreak.

Set designer Wu Qiong has recreated every detail of those days of panic, including the hanging gauze masks, posters on how to prevent SARS, thermometers and the "armed" disinfection men.

After one resident is diagnosed with SARS, the whole courtyard is put under quarantine. The normal routines of life are disrupted; relationships change in a climate of fear; memories of past disasters return. Isolated from the world, the residents open the doors to their hearts.

During the SARS outbreak, BPAT publicly solicited scripts about the epidemic for such a play. "The South Courtyard in the North Lane" was the winning script. Its playwright Wang Jian is from the Drama Troupe of the Political Department of the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army. He revised the play five times before rehearsals started on June 20.

"SARS offered me a basket which I stuffed with people's joys and sorrows, departures and reunions," Wang said.

"Facing the disaster, Beijingers showed their optimism, warm hearts, open minds and sense of unity. That's what I wanted to say through the play," says Wang.

BPAT's most popular performers of the last three generations - including the old Zhu Xu and Lu Zhong, the middle-aged Pu Cunxin and He Bing, and the young Cheng Lisha and Bai Hui - all contribute impressive performances.

But Zhu deserves the most applause. The 73-year-old veteran actor controls the stage as the optimistic and wise old man Yang, who survived the Tangshan earthquake 27 years ago, almost losing his leg while saving a girl. Now he faces another disaster and, as the oldest and most venerable figure in the courtyard, he wants to unite all the residents to overcome the outbreak.

Inside, he is as upset and anxious as the others, but he tries to appear calm. His smile warms the frightened quarantined neighbourhood.

Zhu's acting not only caught the audience's attention but inspired all the other performers.

"It's an honour to perform with him on stage. I respect him and admire his acting," said He Bing, who plays old Yang's son.

Zhu has been absent from the stage for more than 12 years, last performing in BPAT's rendition of the play "Major Barbara" in 1991.

Upon receiving the invitation from BPAT, Zhu agreed to perform their new play without hesitation, mainly because of his eagerness "to do something for the city which had just suffered through an epidemic."

But he did not conceal his nerves. "After all, I have not performed on stage for so long and I am getting older," the actor said humbly before the premiere.

But the old fiddle still plays a perfect tune. Zhu deserves director Ren's acclaim as an "outstanding actor."

Pu Cunxin, arguably the most popular actor with BPAT, plays Tan Tian, a divorced husband who has recovered from SARS and visits his daughter in the courtyard, only to be quarantined there with his former wife.

The role is a departure from the heroes Pu usually plays. He is not welcomed by residents of the courtyard, except for his daughter (performed by Bai Hui). Some 15 years ago, he left his wife (played by Gong Lijun) and daughter to make a fortune and becomes a wealthy businessman. But after he is infected with SARS, he goes bankrupt.

Pu successfully portrays a man abandoned by fate whom everyone keeps a good distance from. Sorrow is written all over his face.

"His acting reminds me of my patients and the relatives of those patients," said Wang Chen, president of Chaoyang Hospital, who was invited to the debut.

Old Yang's son, a taxi driver performed by He Bing, is another strong role in the play. The open-minded and humorous young man lifts the gloomy atmosphere of the courtyard. His Beijing dialect and typical youthful manner inject rich local flavour into the play in the style of BPAT.

Rising actress Cheng Lisha vividly portrays a girl who fears SARS above all else. She reminds the audiences of their own responses to the disease.

The performers stand out because of their acting skills and because they drew inspiration from the experiences of people in Dongcheng District who were quarantined together in a siheyuan.

"Unless you went there, you would not know what they were thinking, let it alone to act out their feelings on stage," said director Ren, who took his cast to the courtyard before rehearsals in June.

The 43-year-old principal director with BPAT returns to its realist style after directing several small, avant-garde theatre productions such as the absurd "Waiting for Gudot," the fashionable "The First Intimate Touch," and the aesthetic "I Love Peach Blossoms."

For this production in realistic style, Ren sticks to BPAT's preferred genre of "Chinese distinction" and "poetic realism."

"I am the son of the Beijing People's Art Theatre - my predecessors devoted their lives to build BPAT's distinctive style. Now my duties are to inherit the style and to develop it," Ren said.

"The style of BPAT and the spirit of BPAT supported and inspired me throughout the work on the play."

(China Daily Aug 13, 2003)