Poster for Heaven Sent Photo: Courtesy of Damai

Renowned Chinese novelist and playwright Lao She is a familiar name to fans of stage dramas in China due to the various adaptations of his novels that have been made over the years. 

The latest such adaptation brings Heaven Sent, one of his best novels, to the stage for the first time. Adapted by renowned director Fang Xu, the play will debut on December 25 to 29 at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center. 

"It is always a challenge to adapt such a long story, which focuses on an adopted baby and how his adoptive parents influenced his growth," said Fang, who has adapted a number of the author's works.  

Fang noted that the novel was particularly difficult to adapt since he had to portray the different hopes the adoptive parents have for the child, who is named Tianci (Lit: Heaven Sent).   

This marks Fang's sixth attempt to convert one of Lao's stories to a stage drama right after The Life of Mine, Cat Country and Divorce.

The original novel was finished in the 1930s by Lao She while the author was living in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province. 

"Although it is a story about a young kid nearly 100 years ago, in fact what he experiences could happen to anyone today. These are shared growing pains," Fang noted. 

The new drama will star young actors Guo Qilin and Yan Hexiang.