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Pride and Prejudice, a timeless masterpiece by Jane Austen, a British literary master, is considered as a classic in the history of world literature due to its witty wording, profound insight into human nature and eternal theme of love. In 2025, the NCPA produced a drama of the same title, to the best of its ability. This Western literary classic is reinterpreted from a contemporary perspective and endowed with new dramatic vitality on the basis of staying faithful to the original spirit.
From March 31st to April 5th, 2026, the NCPA drama Pride and Prejudice will be restaged at the NCPA Theatre. Written by YANG Hui and FANG Xiaoshen, directed by ZHAO Ling in cooperation with WU Song, the drama features WANG Yiqing as Elizabeth, ZHAO Ling as Darcy and YANG Qi as Jane. They will work with the NCPA Drama Ensemble to give a soulful performance to show how pure and beautiful romantic love is!
As it unfolds on the stage, the drama will present a romantic legend about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, who fall in love with each other even if either of them misunderstands or holds prejudice against the other at first. In particular, the drama will present a mental journey on which Elizabeth and Darcy turn their misunderstanding of each other into intimacy. It reveals various complex relations existing in the British countryside, including those concerning money, social class and marriage. It also depicts how women, restricted by their time, awaken from the inside out and realise their self-worth. Beneath humour and satire lies a deep sense of humanity, which helps to create an elegant and impressive theatrical atmosphere on the stage. The creative team, which treats literature rigorously, will adopt an innovative stage expression in homage to the classic. They will lead the audience through time and space to experience the game of love and worldly wisdom that prevailed in rural Britain in the 19th century.
With full respect for the original work, the playwright has dramatised the wonderful dialogues and delicate mental description, preserving the essence of the novel while adapting it to meet contemporary theatrical aesthetic standards. The drama will be interpreted to a tittle with almost every detail under stage management. That is, as these classic characters, including Elizabeth, who is clever and strong-willed, Darcy, who is proud and devoted, Jane, who is gentle and kindhearted, and Mrs. Bennet, who is philistine and anxious, appear vividly on the stage in the original context, their feelings will be expressed in a way that may strike a chord with the audience, so as to provoke new thoughts on love, social class and humanity that are different from those harboured two hundred years ago.
A Chinese expert in Western literature will be invited as a literary consultant to the drama to ensure its cultural accuracy. The stage setting is of the aesthetic style popular in the Regency era and also of modern minimalist style. The stage will be revolved for easy scene change. The costume design is strictly based on historical research, with stage visual effects guaranteed, too. The music is composed with classical and modern elements mixed together. The timeless charm of Pride and Prejudice lies in its genuine portrayal of human weaknesses and growth.
It is an epic of human nature, primarily about love, but more deeply about personal growth.
Pride unites us, prejudice tears us apart, yet it is true love that brings us back together.
Presenter: The NCPA
Producer: The NCPA
Performed by the NCPA Drama Ensemble
Original Author: Jane Austen
Playwrights: FANG Xiaoshen, YANG Hui
Director: ZHAO Ling
Co-Director: WU Song
Set Designer: ZHANG Kunpeng
Lighting Designer: WANG Lijun
Costume Designer: LI Yingxuan
Makeup Designer: JIN Ran
Props Designer: WANG Weijun
Music Designer: YANG Yang
Sound Designer: RONG Hua
Movement Directors: Mili, Qiqi
Cast
Elizabeth: WANG Yiqing*
Darcy: ZHAO Ling*
Jane: YANG Qi*
Mr. Bennet: GUO Xiao
Mrs. Bennet: LAN Lan
Bingley: FENG Yang*
Collins: WU Song*
Lydia: WANG Wenjie*
Mary/Mrs. Gardiner: CAO Xue
Gitti: LIU Beibei*
Lady Catherine de Bourgh/Lady Catherine: ZHANG Xin
Wickham/Sommelier: GUO Shuojie*
Mr. Gardiner/Noordin: LI Zhaoyang*
Sir William Lucas/Fitzwilliam: MA Qinglong*
Miss Bingley/Miss Darcy: XU Yangling
Charlotte Lucas/Mrs. Reynolds: JIA Tingyao
* stands for NCPA Drama Ensemble Member
Photographers: XI Min, WANG Xiaojing, NIU Xiaobei, GONG Xuedong
According to the British law, landlord Bennet’s estate must be entailed on a male heir. However, Mr. Bennet only has five daughters. This means that after Mr. Bennet passes away, his family property will be transferred to a distant relative, Mr. Collins. To protect her daughters from becoming helpless or leading a hard life in the future, Mrs. Bennet feels anxious to help them marry into equally ranked families as quickly as possible.
It so happens that two wealthy young bachelors, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, come to Longbourn, where Bennet lives, and spend their holidays there. At the ball, Bingley, who is gentle and kind-hearted, falls instantly in love with Jane, the eldest daughter of the Bennet family, while Darcy, who is richer, behaves in an aloof and proud manner, causing antipathy in Elizabeth, the second daughter, who is clever and forthright. Although Darcy takes a shine to Elizabeth at first sight and is drawn closer to her day by day, Elizabeth holds growing prejudice against him because of his haughty manners, and especially because she hears military officer Wickham speaking ill of him. So Elizabeth resolutely refuses Darcy when he proposes to her.
After being turned down, Mr. Darcy writes a lengthy letter to Elizabeth to clear up the misunderstandings between them. The failure in the proposal makes them aware of their own faults, so that one throws off his haughty airs and the other puts away her prejudice. Gradually, they come to understand each other, and when meeting again, they show much deeper love for each other.
Just as the two get closer, Lydia, the youngest daughter of the Bennet family, elopes with Wickham. If the scandal comes to light, Lydia will have her own reputation utterly ruined, and so will her sisters’ marriages. When the entire family is just overcome with anxiety and helplessness, news suddenly arrives that Lydia and Wickham have got married without incident, and the crisis is quietly resolved.
Elizabeth then learns that all this is owed to secret support from Darcy, so she loves him more. When Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine, steps forward to interfere wantonly and force her to break with Darcy, Elizabeth does not have her confidence shaken. Instead, she becomes more confident in her love. At last, Darcy proposes to her again, and she gladly accepts his proposal. Thus they get married.
FANG XiaoshenPlaywright
FANG Xiaoshen
FANG Xiaoshen is the scriptwriter of the NCPA drama Suspect Sherlock Holmes, Absolute Loyalty to the Party, a military drama commissioned to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory of the “August 6th” Naval Battle, My Classmate is a Submarine, a micro-drama produced by the PLA Naval Submarine Academy, radio dramas The Battle of Yashan and The Game of Sacred Land, multi-voice dramas Snow in North City and Gifted Fortune Teller, variety programmes Voice Monster and Voice Monster 2, sound dramas Zhuolu and Golden Crow, and others.
YANG HuiPlaywright
YANG Hui
YANG Hui is an associate professor at the Department of Cultural Industry Management, School of Literature, Capital Normal University, holding a doctor’s degree from the School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, and a joint PhD degree from the University of California, Davis. She is a member of the China Literature and Art Critics Association, member of the New Media Literary and Art Criticism Committee, Beijing Literary and Art Critics Association, and council member of the Professional Committee for Film & Television Industry and Management Research, Chinese Collegial Association for Visual Art.
YANG Hui is the scriptwriter of the NCPA drama Suspect Sherlock Holmes, PLA Naval Submarine Academy micro-drama My Classmate is a Submarine, variety programme Voice Monster, and others. She has also contributed to the creation of documentaries such as Masters in Forbidden City, Life Is A Belief and New Chinese-Made Goods. Engaged in research on the film and TV culture, arts and industry, YANG Hui has published several monographs and compilations and over 30 academic papers. Besides, she has presided over a number of ministerial, provincial and municipal research projects. As a regular film, TV and theatre critic, she writes for Guangming Daily and Wenhui Daily.
ZHAO LingDirector
ZHAO Ling
ZHAO Ling is an NCPA Drama Ensemble member.
As a director, his representative works include the NCPA drama Suspect Sherlock Holmes, drama Social Image, radio dramas Sanfenxingye and Haoran Sword, and others.
ZHAO Ling has headed the bill in the NCPA dramas including Hamlet (Hamlet), The Merchant of Venice (Antonio), The LEI Family, the Royal Architects (LEI Tingchang), The Count of Monte Cristo (Prisoner Dantès), and Suspect Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes). He has starred in the NCPA dramas including King Lear (Edmund), Jane Eyre (St. John), and others.
As a dubber and reciter, his representative works include TV series Empresses in the Palace (Prince Guo) and Sherlock (Sherlock), cartoon Jackie Chan Adventures (Jackie Chan), etc., 3D films Titanic (Jack) and Man of Steel (Man of Steel), radio dramas Eternal Affection, The Teacher and Heart to Heart, and others. 29 of these works have won the National “Five-One Project” Award for Excellence. He serves as a reciter at the NCPA symphony concerts Beijing Cantata and The Yellow River Cantata.
WU SongCo-Director
WU Song
WU Song is an NCPA Drama Ensemble member and second-class actor.
WU Song is a council member of the China Art Association, Secretary-General of the Drama Committee of the Beijing Youth Art Development Association, a member of the Beijing Theatre Association, and a council member of the Dongcheng District Theatre Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree in directing and master’s degree in drama performance from the Beijing Film Academy.
His representative theatrical works include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear, The Tempest, The Birds, The LEI Family, the Royal Architects, Look West to Chang’an, The Crossroad, Roméo et Juliette, The Pillowman, Douzhier, People in the Imperial Palace, Reason, Suspect Sherlock Holmes, Qingshui Bathhouse, Building 8, Xiangyangli Community, Xiangyang Barbershop, A Doll’s House, DENG Shichang, Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), Twelfth Night, and others.
As a theatre director, his representative works include minority song and dance drama Flowers Falling on Spruce Meadow, theme drama Eternal Gyroscope, sitcom Those Years in the Republic of China, suspense drama The Last Tie, dramas Spring Awakening for Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Memory of Wangjiashan, Kill the Judge, The World of Joys and Sorrows, Suspect Sherlock Holmes and Pride and Prejudice, and military drama Absolute Loyalty to the Party.
ZHANG KunpengSet Designer
ZHANG Kunpeng
ZHANG Kunpeng is a set designer at the NCPA and member of the China Theatre Association, holding a master’s degree in theatre, film and TV art design from the Central Academy of Drama.
His works have won the Best Production Award at the Daegu International Opera Festival, the Excellent Production Award at the Fifth Bharata Theatre Festival in India, the China Theatre Culture Award for Best Set Design, the First Prize for Grand Stage Production and the TIAN Han Award at the 15th Guangdong Provincial Arts Festival, with some even invited to the BQ Beijing Set Design Invitational Exhibition.
His representative stage works include opera Gianni Schicchi, dramas Crows and Sparrows, Crossroads, The Birds, The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, dance dramas The Cornfield and 29, and musicals Where is There No Moonlight on the Spring River, Painted Skin, The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man, West Chamber and Mr. And Mrs. Single. His representative cultural tourism works include nautical epic musical Dream Search in the Vast Sea, situational night tours The Legend of Lishui and Confucian Dream of Quzhou, water dance show Mountain River Ballad, and others.
WANG LijunLighting Designer
WANG Lijun
WANG Lijun holds a bachelor’s degree in set and lighting design from the Department of Stage Design, Central Academy of Drama. WANG Lijun started his career as a set and lighting designer in 2010, having worked for over a dozen years since then. He is full of creative enthusiasm and richly experienced in lighting design. He works as a set and lighting designer for various forms of stage work, and has garnered many national awards.
His representative dance dramas include The Mountain Flowers in the Battlefield are Bright Red, which was shortlisted for the China Dance Lotus Award, and My Youth in Dance, which won the Gold Award and Excellent Dance Award at the Beijing Dance Festival for College Students and First Prize at the 2018 National Dance Festival for College Students.
His representative musicals include In Search of Music, which won him the Best Set Designer Award at the 28th Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre, Tomato Remarkable, If I Were Not Me, and others.
His representative dramas include Meet the Unknown Self (director: HUANG Kai), which won the Golden Lion Award, Rhinoceros In Love (as executive lighting designer), directed by MENG Jinghui and premiered in 2008, I Love You, Become a Brandnew Myself, Here Comes Son-in-Law, Requiem, Roméo et Juliette, Goldbach’s Conjecture, A Chinese Odyssey: Pandora’s Cinderella, Reason, Romantic Entanglement in Wartime (incubated by the NCPA), and others.
His representative children’s dramas include Duda & Dada, directed by Ming-Hua Lee, a director from Taiwan, Magic Wonderland: Candy Story, I Love Fables, Adventures of Little Lion, The Mysterious Partner of the Great Sage, Encounter with Textbook Characters, and others.
WANG Lijun has worked on many evening galas including the one held by the Chinese PLA Navy to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the CPC, Backbone of the Republic at the Great Hall of the People, and Grateful & Ambitious for celebrating the 120th Anniversary of the Founding of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
LI YingxuanCostume Designer
LI Yingxuan
LI Yingxuan works at the NCPA Department of Stage Technology. She used to attend the Fine Arts School Affiliated to Central Academy of Fine Arts and the School of Theater, Film and Television, Communication University of China. Up to now, she has taken charge of costume management in more than 40 NCPA productions. She worked at the Meng Theatre Studio.
LI Yingxuan has worked as a costume designer for Forgive, the Best Feature Film at the Ninth FIRST International Film Festival, Henan Performing Arts Group Old Street, a drama supported by the China National Arts Fund, MENG Jinghui’s 9 and 1/2 Love, Linchuan Four Dreams and Stolen Heart, Yunnan party-style drama Spectacle, Beijing Happy Valley Grand Theatre Show Golden Mask Dynasty, CCTV Double Seventh Festival Gala 2021, director YANG Liping’s dance drama Apeng & Jinhua, China National Theatre for Children children’s drama Xin’an Touring Troupe, and History and People’s Choice, a drama jointly produced by the Party School of the CPC Central Committee and Central Academy of Drama.
JIN RanMakeup Designer
JIN Ran
JIN Ran is a second-class set designer, now working at the NCPA. She holds a master’s degree in theatre, film and TV character image design from the Central Academy of Drama. She has served as makeup designer or executive makeup designer for the NCPA operas Gianni Schicchi, Falstaff, Les pêcheurs de perles, The Daughter of the Party, Minning Town and The Song of Youth, dramas The Crossroad and February, among others.
As a makeup or costume designer, her representative works include operas Così fan tutte, Dido and Aeneas, La Bohème and L’Elisir D’Amore, dramas Lu Xun, MA Zhiyuan, Thunderstorm 2.0, Dream House, My Name is Inanna, Ipsen’s Lifetime, Criminal Record, Le Malentendu, Natto Residue, Hypocrite’s Slave and Elephant in the Room, acrobatic drama Grandpa Locust Tree, which won the Henan Provincial “One-Five Project” Award, and On the Hopeful Field, and children’s drama Waka Waka Candy Planet.
JIN Ran has served as makeup or costume designer films, TV series and other events, including TV dramas Empty Nest Grandpa, Snoring Elves and Kaixinbianjiaoliao, films Youth Notes and Crazy Wedding, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 15th Sports Games and Sixth Paralympic Games of Inner Mongolia, among others.
WANG WeijunProps Designer
WANG Weijun
WANG Weijun is a staff member of the NCPA, holding a degree in arts management from the Central Conservatory of Music. He has designed stage props for more than 80 theatrical works produced by the NCPA, including operas, dramas, dance dramas and musicals.
WANG Weijun has designed stage props for the NCPA productions including LIN Zexu, A Village Teacher (New Version), Tosca, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Effendi & His Double, etc. He works as the props coordinator in the operas Der Ring Des Nibelungen: Das Rheingold and Roméo et Juliette, dramas The Crossroad and Returning Home on a Snowy Night, etc. His representative works include A Millennium Promise, a theatrical performance held at the “Belt and Road” Forum for International Cooperation, I Grow Up with My Motherland—For the International Children’s Day of 2019, and self-produced plays Turandot, Der Fliegende Holländer, Snow White, You and Me, The Long March, Minning Town, The Wild Rhododendron, etc.
YANG YangSound Designer
YANG Yang
YANG Yang works as a sound engineer and programme producer at the CMG China Traffic Radio, holding a degree in music editing from the Communication University of China.
She has served sound designer for a number of dramas including the NCPA drama Suspect Sherlock Holmes, Beijing People’s Art Theatre The Chosen One and Mean Girl, and others.
Several productions featuring her designs have won national awards, including prizes from the CNR. Among these, the radio drama Drama Queen SONG Xiao’e won the Excellent Production Award at the “Five-One Project” Awards for the 15th Session of Spiritual Civilisation Construction by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. Radio drama The Heart’s Ropeway won the Radio Drama Award at the China Radio and Television Awards: Radio and Television Programs 2015-2016. History of Frequency Development received the Second Prize for AD Packaging at the CNR Excellence Awards. Radio drama Nanhai Banyan garnered the Excellent Production Award at the Guangdong Provincial “Five-One Project” Awards for the 12th Session of Spiritual Civilisation Construction.
RONG HuaSound Designer
RONG Hua
RONG Hua is a sub-senior sound designer at the NCPA, holding a bachelor’s degree in recording engineering from the Communication University of China and master’s degree in theatre design & stage technology from the Beijing University of Technology.
RONG Hua has served as sound designer, sound effects designer and producer for a number of stage productions. Her representative works including the NCPA opera commissions Xishi, Gianni Schicchi and Un Ballo in Maschera, children’s operas Snow White, Effendi and Effendi & His Double, dramas Jane Eyre, A Doll’s House, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Crossroads and Il Servitore di Due Padroni, and dance drama The Railway to Tibet.
Some productions featuring her designs have been awarded the title of Excellent Stage Drama for Children and/or received support from the China National Arts Fund. RONG Hua attended the Beijing International Ballet and Choreography Competition and Second China Dance “Lotus Award” Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony.
NCPA Drama Ensemble
NCPA Drama Ensemble was established on July 28th, 2016 and the Chairman of China Theatre Association, renowned Chinese actor PU Cunxin was invited to be the Artistic Director. It is another resident performance troupe following the China NCPA Chorus, the China NCPA Orchestra, and the NCPA Octet. Adhering to NCPA's principle of “for the people, for art, for the world”, the NCPA Drama Ensemble will focus on rehearsing dramas, participating in other NCPA productions and joining cultural exchange activities such as performing at grass-root units and campus. NCPA Drama Ensemble has taken part in several NCPA productions, including The LEI Family, The Royal Architects, Returning Home on a Snowy Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jane Eyre, Hamlet, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, Look West to Chang'an, A Doll's House, The Birds, The Tempest, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Crossroad, Crossroads, LIN Zexu, Crows and Sparrows, Il Servitore di Due Padroni, Twelfth Night, etc., and the Ensemble is to present more exciting works in the future.
*Please purchase tickets through authorized channels to avoid counterfeiting. Before completing your purchase, please verify the performance date, time, venue, and seat number carefully. Performance tickets are time-sensitive and limited in availability. Once a transaction has been completed, tickets are non-exchangeable, non-refundable and cannot be reissued if lost. Please double-check all ticketing details and securely retain your physical ticket or electronic order. If you are unable to attend due to personal reasons, please make your own arrangements regarding the use of your tickets. We appreciate your understanding as any inconvenience caused.
*The cast, programme, or other performance details are subject to change and shall be based on the live performance. In the event of major adjustments - such as changes to the performance date or lead cast - please refer to the official announcements issued by the NCPA and follow the relevant procedures as instructed.
*The NCPA opens 90 minutes before performances, and 60 minutes before art education lectures and similar events. Auditorium entry begins 45 minutes before performances. For all performances and events, the Northern entrance serves as the sole public entrance. Please ensure that ticket scanning and security screening are completed prior to entry, and allow sufficient time to avoid delays.
*Tickets must be retained in their original, intact condition. Admission will be denied for tickets lacking a stub, or bearing any alterations, obscured information, or defacement. Each ticket is valid for a single entry on the date of the performance. For certain performances, presentation of original valid identification documents is required. Admission will be granted only when the ticket information corresponds with the presented identification.
*Recommended admission height: 1.2 meters and above. Special provisions may apply to certain performances or events, as indicated on the corresponding ticketing page.
*All attendees are required to undergo security screening upon entry. Smoking and open flames are strictly prohibited within the NCPA premises. Prohibited items include, but not limited to, firearms and replicas, controlled knives, flammable or explosive substances, toxic or hazardous materials, corrosive substances, and radioactive materials. Any prohibited items discovered will be handed over to public security authorities.
*For safety and hygiene reasons, the NCPA does not provide storage services for food, beverages, or similar items. The following items are not permitted inside the NCPA: food and drinks, flags & banners, electronic cigarettes, power banks exceeding 20000mAh, flowers, recording or photography equipment, and oversized luggage.
*Attendees are requested to address appropriately. Admissions will be denied to individuals who are improperly attired or under the influence of alcohol.
*If you are late, please wait quietly in the audience waiting area. Entry will be permitted under the guidance of ushers during appropriate intermissions or between movements, and you are requested to take the nearest available seat with minimal disturbance. For concerts consisting of a single piece - either for the entire performance or a complete half - late arrivals and audience who leave midway will not be admitted.
*All attendees are requested to observe proper performance etiquette. Please keep quiet and remain seated throughout the entire performance. Mobile phones should be turned off or set to silent mode, and calls should not be made in the auditorium. Photography, audio, or video recording of the performance is strictly prohibited without prior permission. The use of flashlights, including phone flashlights, is not allowed.
* After the performance, please exit the auditoriums in an orderly manner. Loitering is discouraged.
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