A scene from the play Ruan Lingyu Photo: Courtesy of BPAT

Being one of the most renowned film stars during the period of The Republic of China (1912-49), Ruan Lingyu is an artistic figure that has graced both screen and stage many times. She is seen as a tragic figure due to her unusual and twisted life, which ended in 1935.

Acclaimed as one of the "four beauties" of her era, Ruan, with her dazzling good looks, earned herself a leading place in the film circle, meanwhile became complicated in emotional entanglements with three men, which directly led to her death.

The Beijing People's Art Theatre (BPAT) has now put the dramatic life of this historically famous actress on stage for a second time. Premiered on December 25, the play will run through January 12, and is set to be a highlight of this academic theatre as China ushers in the lunar new year.

Detailing the life of a classic screen and stage actress, Ruan Lingyu was previously performed at the theater 19 years ago. Written by the famous Chinese scriptwriter Liu Jinyun, who has created many classic plays such as Father Doggie Nirvana (1986) and Boundless Love (2000), the 1994 version of Ruan Lingyu was directed by the seasoned director Lin Zhaohua and starred Xu Fan, who was roughly about the same age as Ruan while at the most turbulent period of her 25 years tragic life.

Xu portrayal of Ruan earned the emerging actress the prestigious Plum Performance Award (the highest domestic play award, initiated in 1983 and held every two years) in 1996. And now after 19 years of experience in the entertainment sector, Xu is much more relaxed and sympathetic with the heroine's feelings this time around. 

Art imitating life

Born into a poor family, as a child Ruan lodged with a rich family who employed her mother as a servant. To keep her from being despised by her classmates, Ruan's mother told her not to tell others of her servitude.

The consciousness of high esteem emphasized by her mother foreshadowed Ruan's tragic fate as she entered one of the most controversial professions of that era.

Whilst living with the family, Ruan met the first love of her life, Zhang Damin, a relationship that was later met with dire consequences. Introduced by Zhang's brother, Ruan tried her hand at acting in a film and soon was scouted as a potential future star.

During her short journey to fame, she subsequently met Cai Chusheng and Tang Jishan, who together with Zhang are typically categorized as Ruan's soul mates, her material lover and her first, but roguish lover.

Dedicating true love to each of them, Ruan was met with cowardice, cheating, and self-degradation. The fatal factor adding to Ruan's suicide was a rumor instigated by Zhang that she stole many valuable items from his family and gave them to Tang, which through the exaggeration of unethical tabloids, burdened Ruan's life up until its end.

And finally to prove her innocence to people and to quell the rumor mill that surrounded her, she killed herself on March 8, 1935. After her death, a great writer of that era named Lu Xun (1881-1936) wrote an essay about her death, aptly named On the Fearfulness of Gossip.

"When I acted in the play 19 years ago, I took more of a critical approach to the attitude to the character," said Xu.

"Believing that Ruan's death was caused by her own disposition, nobody could have stopped her, but now I can feel more of a sense of helplessness in her. Her birth and death were both out of her control," she added.

Poetic reflection

As one of the numerous artistic works reflecting Ruan's life, BPAT's version is more poetic compared to other documentary-style works. Before the stage presentation, the version that left a lasting impression with viewers was the 1992 film Ruan Lingyu, directed by Hong Kong legend Stanley Kwan and starring Maggie Cheung.

Thanks to the film, Cheung swept up the best actress award in three influential film festivals including the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival (1992), the 12th Hong Kong Film Awards (1993) and the 28th Golden Horse Award (1991).

The highly recognized film actually adopted a semi-documentary style, citing many researchers' observations on the dispositions of the character, as well as the social environment of that time.

However, in the current stage version, the director chose not to represent those authentic happenings in history, but took a lighter and poetic tone to tell the sad tale of the life of Ruan, and how her social background may have played a part in her death. 

Small regrets

Playing Ruan for the second time, Xu is much more relaxed than in her first performance.

"Xu seems more of her own when playing Ruan now, her dance with Pu Cunxin (who played Tang) on stage showed audiences the unsurpassed beauty of that generation," said journalist Tian Wanting from The Mirror.

According to Xu, when she played Ruan 19 years ago, she was too deep into the character, and tried too hard to perform the character's emotional struggle, which Xu didn't quite understand either.

"This time I tried to keep a distance from the character, keeping myself more calm in acting and leaving more space for audiences to review this famous historic actress," said Xu.

And to go with those dramas in the character's life, the method of montage such as dialogue with different person at different times is frequently used on the stage. Meanwhile, the whole stage is designed into a film studio that completes the character's whole life, implicating her dramatic fate.

However, there are also some minor regrets that affect the quality of the play in its entirety. For example, the traditional qipao dress that Xu wears is too simple both in color and style, her short hairstyle is too casual, lacking the due delicacy and radiance to underline the identity of a red-hot female star of that period.

Besides, "The stage design is too simple, like the sofa where Ruan lies on is just a stool covered with a cloth, it's too informal," according to He Lulu, a cultural critic.