Promotional material for The Radiance of Spacetime Photo: Courtesy of Dongfang Nuan

The organizers for children's play The Radiance of Spacetime announced on Wednesday that the show is preparing for a nationwide tour of China for August. 

The play, which first debuted June 1-5 at the Mentougou Theater in Beijing, focuses on the inheritance of the traditional Chinese art form known as shadow play from one generation to the next. 

Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, has a history that dates back to more than 2,000 years ago.  

Performers hold leather figures behind a semi-transparent curtain lit from behind, using the shadows to tell tales of adventure, romance and courage.  

The main character in the play, a young boy named Xiao Pan, shows no interest in the work of his father, a shadow play performer, yet his father hopes his son can inherit and keep this traditional art form alive.

Four aliens from a planet named Forgotten arrive and help Xiao Pan gain a new understanding of the art form, inspiring him to take on the responsibility of preserving this intangible cultural heritage.  

According to the organizers,  more than 800 tickets were sold for the first performance.