Young, white-collar workers should watch the play Single Ladies, which is running at the Oriental Avant-Garde Theater until Feb 8.

Miss Zhang, 29, has a good job but a poor boyfriend. She expects him to be romantic but the reality is never the same as her dream. Single Ladies is a funny story about modern society and it paints a portrait of those "3S ladies", who are single, born in the '70s and stuck.

The play My Wife Has Mustache (Ma Femme S'appelle Maurice) at Star Live (Feb 5 to 7) is another good choice for young people. Written by French playwright Raffy Shart, the play centers on business, love and relationships. The Chinese version of the play won't disappoint its fans as it has many Chinese elements in it.

The best-selling comedy Happy Fried Dough Twist 2009 (Kaixin Mahua) will return for a fourth run at the PLA Theater from Feb 11 to 15. This is somewhat like Beach Blanket Babylon, the long-running comedy that is constantly updated for new jokes. Ostensibly about time travel back to the Song and Han dynasties, it features non-stop spoofs of popular culture. Not spared are Red Cliff, the latest blockbuster movie, and Zhang Yimou's Opening Ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. You have to be plugged into both Chinese history and pop culture to get the mostly verbal jokes.

(China Daily January 22, 2009)