Ahuge, black-tiled roof overhangs the stage of the Shanghai Grand Theatre, in place of the curtain.

When it rises, the tragedies of a dying feudal family are played out before the audience.

The roof is just one of the impressive set designs in the new modern drama, The Family (Jia), presented during the 2003 Shanghai International Arts Festival, which ended last Tuesday.

The stage work is adapted from the novel of the same title by Ba Jin (1904-), as part of the national celebrations of his 100th birthday.

The Family is a vivid portrayal of the young people whose aspirations and love were crushed in an old family of three generations under the reign of the patriarch, grandfather Gao.

They had to succumb to the centuries-old feudal family rules, even at a time when China, then already a republic, was absorbing new Western ideas.

When Ba Jin had it published in the 1930s as the first of his epic trilogy The Torrent (Jiliu), the novel inspired a lot of the educated young people to examine and rebel against the old feudal society of China.

Director Chen Yixin explains her ideas behind the roof: "I once visited Ba Jin's home in Chengdu many years ago. At the entrance of the lane called Tongshun, I saw a huge black and tiled roof.

"It obstructed my view and made me feel somewhat suffocated," she recalls. "I thought at that very moment, I would direct a play with the roof as the symbol."

This year she was able to put her ideas on stage when her drama and three other stage adaptations of The Family were presented during the Shanghai International Arts Festival.

Each of the four plays, the Shaoxing Opera version, the Huju Opera version, the Sichuan Opera version and the modern drama, attempts its own interpretation of Ba Jin's work.

Of them, Chen's five-act modern drama is the most original.

Change of ending

Most of the previous stage adaptations, including the three opera productions, focus on the marriage, hard work and finally the death of Ruijue, wife of the eldest grandson in the big feudal family.

The story-telling underscores the corruption in big feudal families in old China and the cruelty of the old marriage system.

But Chen said she tried to highlight the fact people will always fight to free themselves from the oppression of an old social system.

In his work, Ba Jin emphatically expresses this fact.

The "fascinating youth" in Ba Jin's novel were described as having "a surge of emotions and drive to struggle for a bright future."

So despite the dark hanging roof and despite Chen's laborious unfolding of the tragic love that three women -- not only Ruijue -- endure, Chen ends her drama on a brighter note. Juehui, the youngest grandson of the family who has fled from home, comes back for a visit.

Juehui encourages his elder brother Juexin to free himself from the shackles of the family and society. Juexin has witnessed the tragic deaths of his wife (Ruijue) by arranged marriage, his childhood lover (Mei) and Juehui's childhood lover (Mingfeng).

The wedding night scene wonderfully expresses the characters' complicated inner world and tragic fates.

On the wedding night, the bridegroom Juexin, who still misses Mei and struggles between his love for her and his arranged marriage, is reluctant to visit his bride Ruijue. He stands at the side of the window while she sits alone on the bed unaware of his thoughts.

Their soliloquy and dialogue perfectly connect, revealing Ruijue's dream of a happy married life and, despite his mental struggle, Juexin's final acquiescence to the arranged marriage.

Through the couple, who ultimately both stand by the windows, the audience is exposed to the gloomy atmosphere of the lake outside the chamber, the chilly air and bird song.

The more upbeat tone of the drama's ending is accompanied by the song Sunny Boy by US jazz singer Gracie Field, which acts as a musical thread throughout the play.

Juehui gets Field's album from his revolutionary friend. He shares the song with his lover Mingfeng and he sings to his second brother Juemin when he flees home to avoid the arranged marriage. He finally gives it as a gift to Juexin and encourages him to struggle against the family.

"When I found it was Ba Jin's favourite song when he was young, all of a sudden, I understood him, understood Juehui and understood the youth of that time," said Chen. "It expresses the rebellious youth's yearning for a bright and free future."

"So I put the song into the play and hope all the audience enjoy it and gain an understanding of the young people of that time," she said.

Under her direction, the sunny and high-spirited Juehui is the incarnation of the writer. And he is in sharp contrast with the role of Juexin, who knits his brows with sorrows all day alone.

The photo of Ba Jin and his elder brother is projected on the curtain at the very beginning and the end.

A narrator tells how Ba Jin loved his brother and left him the album as a gift before he left Chengdu for Shanghai.

Star-studded cast

The play, staged three times at the festival, was a box-office hit, not so much because of Chen's original interpretation but because of its famous cast.

The producer, Shanghai Entertainment Tongith Star Performance, whose general manager Ye Huixian is a famous local TV host, started to produce "star-studded dramas" in 2001.

The company's previous three plays -- The Guards under the Neon Lights, Seventy-two Tenants and Mission Special -- were all box-office successes.

The Guards under the Neon Lights featured more than 20 popular performers from 11 theatre genres; Seventy-two Tenants starred Taiwan pop singer Ling Feng, while Mission Special brought together 51 well-known Shanghai performers to present a story about the SARS outbreak.

The Family follows the same casting strategy.

The 82-year-old renowned film actor Sun Daolin leads the popular cast. Sun once played Juehui in a 1946 version of the play and Juexin in 1956. This time round, he takes the role of the master of the big family.

Although he is a little frail on stage, Sun's performance won applause from his fans. Sun needed others' support while the old Gao needed his concubine or grandson's support. So the audience could accept the Achille's heel in the play.

Popular TV host Cheng Qian takes the role of Juehui and gives a touching performance, especially when he tries to persuade his elder brother Juexin to forgo the arranged marriage.

"Only acting that could move me could move the audience," he said.

However, the production did have its flaws.

While the director emphasizes the vigour of youth, the average age of the cast is over 40. Their rich stage or screen experience aside, they still had a hard time giving true-to-life portrayals of young people in their 20s.

The performers, from Beijing, Shanghai and abroad, also met for rehearsals only about a month before the drama was staged. The lack of time and co-operation could still be detected throughout the play.

(China Daily November 24, 2003)