Passion of past love

Drama director and scriptwriter Zhang Nan. Zou Hong / China Daily

Zhang met her husband while studying English literature at Peking University. Then the couple pursued their studies in the United States, building their theatrical career together. The reason behind their decision to translate Western drama scripts into Chinese stemmed from "a sense of crisis" they felt.

"On the one hand, there are many talented contemporary writers from the West, but the Chinese audiences don't have the opportunity to enjoy their great works. On the other hand, good scripts are lacking in China's contemporary theater scene," says Zhang, who graduated with a master's degree in both dramatic literature, and lighting design and technology, from Ohio State University. Together with Zhao Han, she focuses on translating two to three Western contemporary plays into Chinese every year.

"But we could never bring all the great works to China. We just interpret works that, we believe, would be connected with Chinese audiences, make them think and broaden their vision," she adds.

The couple agree that audiences have the most direct and timely contact with the story, a connection much stronger than they get from reading a book.

As a youngster in Beijing, Zhang enjoyed reading literary works, especially scripts, because she gets obsessed with the witty conversation and the portraits of characters.

"I am interested in literature works, which are abstract and related to myths, because I like the philosophy underneath the story and I want the audience to imagine and interpret by themselves," says Zhang.