Back on stage: A well-loved play

Playwright-director Stan Lai's River/Cloud will tour major cities in Chinese mainland from October, Cheng Yuezhu reports.

Nearly 40 years ago, renowned playwright and theater director Stan Lai staged Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, which has gone through more than 10 editions under Lai's direction and is considered his magnum opus to this day.

The play tells the story of two stage crews accidentally booking the same stage for rehearsal — a comedy titled Peach Blossom Land — a farcical rendition of a utopia in ancient China, and a tragedy — Secret Love — where a young couple gets separated during the War of Liberation (1946-49).

In Secret Love, both individuals, Jiang Binliu and Yun Zhifan, migrate to Taiwan without one knowing about the other and continue to live their lives. After 40 years, on his hospital bed, Jiang comes to know that Yun might also be in Taiwan and publishes a notice in a newspaper resulting in an emotional reunion.