When 90 years had passed since CAO Yu published Thunderstorm, LI Liuyi produced the drama on the basis of a separate edition published in 1936, back to CAO Yu's literature.Reconstruction of a Timeless Chinese Classic Drama on the Contemporary Stage

Thunderstorm was published in 1934 in The Literature Quarterly, of which Bajin was an editorial board member. CAO Yu, who was 23 years old then, depicted the intense social conflicts of his time in absurd relations among the members of a big family, with the Chinese people's fate visualised, thereby striking a chord with a wide audience. Thunderstorm became a masterpiece of modern Chinese literature, a cornerstone of realistic Chinese theatre and an article in our textbook. Over the past ninety years, it has been recognised as a milestone in the history of modern Chinese drama.

As Thunderstorm was celebrating its 90th birthday in 2024, LI Liuyi, a masterful Chinese theatre director from the Beijing People's Art Theatre, joined hands with William Cheung, a set designer, costume & hair style designer and winner of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Art Director, as well as a group of influential actors and actresses from the Beijing People's Art Theatre including HU Jun, LU Fang, MIAO Chi and LI Xiaomeng, to pay a tribute to CAO Yu and Chinese drama - by letting drama be drama and man be man to present a kind of mental realm that is depicted as "dreary heat" and "sorrowful silence" in CAO Yu's writing.

Thunderstorm is a frosty, staid, plaintive and crazy mirror, in which we are reflected through the desperate human nature in the long history. Perhaps we are happy to live with a soft heart.

Date: from 8 January 2025 to 12 January 2025

Venue: Theatre, NCPA