Stealing scenes, winning hearts and minds

Cast members of Robin Hood by the Beijing Playhouse are of different backgrounds, nationalities and ages. Photo provided to China Daily

Since then she's performed in other Beijing Playhouse productions, including Snow White and Our Town, as well as assistant directing The Wizard of Oz.

"The audiences keep growing. It's nice to see a mix of Chinese and foreign families, and many non-English speakers, too," she says.

Now, Beijing Playhouse is based at British School of Beijing in the Sanlitun area. The rehearsal is five times a week in the evenings and weekends to accommodate players with day jobs.

Beijing Playhouse has been built as a brand, including Beijing Playhouse Talent Agency actors and Beijing Playhouse Academy of Performing Arts children's educational programs. Around 1,000 actors are on the roster.

"The biggest problem is a lack of understanding about theater," says Verrill, "both from an artistic perspective and an economic perspective. But we keep pushing forward and developing an audience."

Verrill says that he'll probably spend the next 20 years－the rest of his career－working here. He loves being able to make a difference in the lives of Chinese people.

"Like all theaters should be, our expectation for the future is completely dependent on the audience. We've been here for eight years. If the audiences want, we'll be here for another 80," he says.

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