For patrons of the arts, to see or not to see will hardly be the question when 72-year-old Lin Zhaohua, a much-honored director, puts on a fresh interpretation of "Hamlet" this autumn.

Famed actor Pu Cunxin and Gao Yuanyuan, a rising actress, will play Hamlet and Ophelia respectively.

The play is scheduled to hit the stage on Oct. 21 at the Poly Theater in Beijing. It runs through Oct. 25.

Lin's version of the Shakespeare classic is one of the highlights of the third international theater festival opening on Oct. 10.

The gala is being hosted by China's National Theater Company to mark the 444th birthday of the famed British Bard.

Also in store are two other versions of Hamlet -- from Australia and Kazakhstan respectively. However, it is Lin's version that will undoubtedly be in the spotlight.

In 1990, he created a sensation by putting on "Hamlet." Thousands of people lined up for tickets outside the Beijing Film Academy theater in the dead of winter.

The success inspired him to revive the drama again in 1994. A year later, the play was invited to Japan and received huge accolades there.

Lin, who is also head of the theater research center at Beijing University, has been a pioneer of the country's theater scene since 1982 when his first play "Absolute Signal" debuted. He is reputed for his unique understanding of Hamlet.

His thinking is very much outside of the box as he switches the roles among Hamlet, Claudius and Polonius. His interpretation, which included a minimalist stage set, surprised audiences.

"Shakespeare's works are eternal not because what the works themselves do to us but because what we can do to the works," he said.

After the introduction of the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, many foreign classics, mainly from the West, were introduced to Chinese audiences. Many, however, were brought in without much digestion. Some scholars even had the tendency to worship the Western thoughts.

Lin's Hamlet was among the first staged efforts to reverse the trend. He took the initiative to experiment on the masterpiece by the famed British playwright.

He demonstrated what Chinese could do to expand the dimension of Western classics.

Lin's Hamlet will tour the country after the festival ends on Nov. 2.

In 1990, he crafted a Hamlet who was not a Danish prince, but instead a commoner who might be any of us. Now, some 18 years on, what will Lin do to outshine not only the two foreign Hamlets but also his previous versions? Undoubtedly, an anxious audiences awaits.

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2008)