Resounding across generations

"Elderly people and their retirement lives are rarely portrayed in plays but shouldn't be ignored. They want to find their own voice after retirement, which is just like Peking Opera, the old art form, needing to shine again in the contemporary world," Song Tianshuo says.

Song Tianshuo also plays three minor roles in the show, adding humor to the production.

It's not the first time for the father and son to stage a play together.

In 2015, they co-directed The Net, which tells the story of a father and his adopted son against the backdrop of a Peking Opera troupe in 1930s Beijing.

The title refers to a piece of cloth that's tied around Peking Opera performers' heads before putting on heavy headwear. Troupes have a unit called kuixiang, in which people help tie the cloth around performers' heads.

A leading role in the play works in the kuixiang department of a Peking Opera company. Along with the main story, the play portrays the stories of the people backstage.

The play was staged nearly 100 times and made about 3 million yuan ($460,000) within three years after its premiere.

The success of The Net led to two more plays featuring Song Yan's collaboration that also revolve around stories of Peking Opera troupes: The Kesi Arrow Sleeve Robe and The Star.

"We tried to display the beauty of Peking Opera through the three plays. With The Couple in the Lane, we wanted to make some changes. Besides setting the story against a contemporary scene, we showcase the beauty of Peking Opera in a gentle and modest way to leave more space for audiences to use their imaginations," says Song Tianshuo.