"Precious sword, sharp as the autumn water! Lend it to me, and I'll carve out happiness!" Written by Zou Jingzhi, directed and starring Zhang Guoli, and featuring Deng Jie, Ouyang Fenqiang, and other cast members from the classic Dream of the Red Chamber (1987 TV series), Longma Studio's play I Love Peach Blossom recently premiered at the Studio Theater of the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center. With "The Dream of the Red Chamber" cast reenacting "The Tale of the Peach Blossom," the performance celebrates nostalgia and artistry. Seasoned performers brought this tale of "swords, scarves, and peach blossoms" to life with unwavering brilliance.

I Love Peach Blossom is a universally appealing classic. Its story originates from the Ming Dynasty collection Xing Shi Yan: Feng Yan has an affair with Zhang Ying's wife, Ruhua. When Feng tries to flee, he finds his scarf pinned under the sleeping Zhang Ying. He signals Ruhua to retrieve the scarf, but she misunderstands and hands him Zhang Ying's sword instead. Using a clever "play within a play" structure, Zou Jingzhi intricately interweaves timelines and reversals. Through a story of "I wanted the scarf, but you gave me a sword," the play delves into questions about love, loyalty, and human complexity, offering layers of humor, poetic beauty, and philosophical depth.

Over the past two decades, the play has been adapted and performed in numerous versions, typically by a cast of three. In Longma Studio's adaptation, however, ten actors bring the story to life, adding a meta-layer with actors from Dream of the Red Chamber interacting with their characters, creating a rich interplay of fiction and reality.

From the start, the audience is drawn in by the performances of Deng Jie and Gao Hongliang as "Ruhua" and "Feng Yan." Their roles evoke the tempestuous yet magnetic dynamic of Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian from Dream of the Red Chamber. Meanwhile, Chen Honghai, playing the crude and intoxicated Zhang Ying, brings a whimsical nod to his portrayal of Xue Pan in the same series. These performances vividly express Ruhua's conflicting emotions of passion and disdain, along with the unintended intersections of love and death.

A pivotal scene featuring time and identity shifts is expertly handled by Zhang Guoli, Wu Xiaodong from National Theatre of China (who played Jia Yun in Dream of the Red Chamber), and younger talents Song Bo and Gao Xiaofei. The play transitions seamlessly from the ancient Tang Dynasty love triangle to a contemporary extramarital affair, exploring universal questions of love and betrayal. Zhang Guoli's layered performance as both actor and "director" adds a self-reflective dimension, guiding the audience through the intricate narrative and emotional labyrinth.

The ancient entanglements of love and enmity in Tang Dynasty tales, the contemporary drama of illicit love affairs, and the tangled emotions both on and off stage intertwine seamlessly in I Love Peach Blossom. Eternal human questions such as "To love or not to love?" and "What is love?" converge with the layered dilemmas of "To kill or not to kill?" and "Who should be killed?" These threads unfold through a narrative of humor, satire, and profound exploration, captivating the audience while offering deep reflections.  

Zhang Guoli's performance stands out with its precision, wit, and effortless transitions. Alternating seamlessly between gravity and humor, he assumes the dual role of "actor" and "director," delivering lines with ease while guiding the audience through the characters' dilemmas and conflicts with crystal clarity amid laughter.  

From "murder" to "suicide" to "the blade returning to its sheath," the final scene restores a veneer of normalcy. Zhang Ying and Ruhua, appearing as harmonious spouses, drink wine and exchange pleasantries, while Zhang Ying and Feng Yan bow ceremoniously to one another as if nothing had transpired. Ouyang Fenqiang and Hou Changrong, who played Baoyu and Liuxianglian, close friends in Dream of the Red Chamber, now portray Zhang Ying and Feng Yan, while Shen Lin, known as Ping'er in the same series, embodies Ruhua. Their portrayals not only perfectly suit the play's characters but also establish an interplay of meaning that bridges their former roles with their current ones, adding yet another meta-layer to the production.  

The characters in this dream enact real-life stories, the love and hate within the play mirroring the joy and sorrow of the actors' realities. This poetic parallelism is further enhanced by the ethereal stage lighting, the poignant open-ended conclusion, and the inclusion of the Dream of the Red Chamber theme song as the closing number for I Love Peach Blossom. These creative choices echo the philosophical notion that "Truth appears false, and false appears true," leaving the audience with thought-provoking reflections.  

Notably, despite its star-studded cast and the nostalgic draw of a "Dream of the Red Chamber," this adaptation of I Love Peach Blossom preserves the intimate charm and artistic depth of its small-theater roots. By performing in an immersive and exploratory black-box setting, the production ensures a richer, more engaging experience for the audience. This commitment underscores the creators' respect for the play and for theatrical artistry, while carrying forward the meticulous, perfectionist spirit of the Dream of the Red Chamber ensemble. 

Translator: FENG Haoxuan

Reviewer: BAI Jing