The star-studded cast of Jiazi Garden spans several generations, the biggest age gap more than 60 years. But in the rehearsal hall, young and seasoned actors all work together to produce something they can all be proud of. “In our theater, there are no small parts, only small actors,” Lan explained, quoting the celebrated Russian actor and director Constantin Stanislavski.

The current leader of the performance section of the Beijing People’s Art Theater is Yang Lixin, who first rose to fame through the popular sitcom I Love My Home in the early 1990s. Yet despite his television reputation, Yang has remained loyal to the Art Theater and grown into one of the company’s most essential actors.

Part of Yang’s loyalty stems from fear – fear of not being able to work with the experimental and avant-garde stage plays produced by younger theater groups. But it also stems from appreciation and a sense of value for the traditions that the Beijing People’s Art Theater has formed and sustained over the last 60 years.

Six Decades in the Limelight

“In China, the stage of the People’s Art Theater is the most prestigious venue for plays,” Yang remarked proudly. This status put pressure on Yang never to slacken in his efforts during his 40 years at the theater.

When Yang played Zhou Puyuan, the surly father, in the theater’s third production of Thunderstorm, he added extra depth and complexity to the character by speculating about Zhou’s experiences in youth and how it shaped his attitude toward life, which are not touched upon in the script.

Cao Yu was the first president of Beijing People’s Art Theater, which was founded on June 12, 1952. At the founding ceremony then vice mayor of Beijing Wu Han, who was also a renowned historian, announced its birth in front of an audience that included some of the most illustrious figures of China’s literature and art circles. Among them were writer Lao She, drama theoretician Zhang Geng, writer Liao Mosha, actor, playwright and director Ouyang Yuqian, and playwright and writer Li Bozhao, wife of late PRC President Yang Shangkun.

Lao She’s masterpiece The Dragon Whisker’s Ditch was the theater’s inaugural production, which was followed by a succession of Cao Yu’s plays including Thunderstorm, The Sunrise and Beijingers, and Guo Moruo’s Tiger Tally. The theater’s early productions laid foundations for its realistic style. The theater also employed the Stanislavski system in its teaching activities and stage plays. Since the very beginning, in order to better present characters, experiencing the lives of people from all walks of life has been one of major tasks of the theater’s directors and performers.

In 1959, when the unique style of the theater had already taken shape, the theater put on eight productions in one year. They included Lao She’s Teahouse and Rickshaw Boy and Guo Moruo’s interpretation of legendary heroine Cai Wenji’s tale, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of new China. An extravaganza of such size and content had never been seen in the capital.

As the decades passed, the theater and its performers gained increasing national attention. The 1980s saw the beginning of a new age of greatness. In the last 20 years, it has staged 12 classic plays plus more than 80 new productions, many of which have enjoyed longstanding popularity.

The company has taken these plays all across China during their 60-year-long history, including Hong Kong and Taiwan. Well received at home, they have also garnered the appreciation of international audiences during overseas tours of such masterpieces as Teahouse, The World’s Best Restaurant, Uncle Doggie’s Nirvana and The Death of a Salesman, making appearances in more than 20 cities abroad. Its international presentation is China’s requital to an imported art form.