Red Banner's gentle and honest father, the thrifty and diligent mother, the sarcastic and conceited aunt, the foppish brother-in-law, the overbearing mother-in-law and her good-natured husband all show a kind of humanity, humor and hubris that was uncommon in Chinese storytelling before Lao She. It was a trait that, in 1951, earned him the title "People's Artist" by the Beijing Municipality.
Despite the fact that its events take place in the year of the author's birth, Red Banner is autobiographical and Lao She spent most of his professional life writing it, but died in 1966 before it was finished.
Like his characters who witnessed the tottering of the Qing dynasty, Lao She himself felt the changes of modern China. He suffered physical and psychological
persecution at the hands of the Red Guards and is widely believed to have taken his own life as a result. It's in this context that Red Banner takes on even greater historical weight.
Jiao brings the master storyteller to life. Something of a master storyteller himself, Jiao became famous in China and Taiwan for his turn as the emperor Kangxi in the TV movie The Yongzheng Dynasty (
"Throughout the production of this play, my sole aim has been to maintain the presence of Lao She in the story," Jiao said. "Representing him faithfully is paramount if you understand the importance of history."
The play was adapted for the stage from Lao She's novel by Lee Lungyun (
Beneath the Red Banner opened last night and will play again tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30 and Sunday, Nov. 16 at
2:30pm at the National Theater (
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