Chinese novelist Liu Zhenyun's work, I Did Not Kill My Husband, which was published in 2012, follows a woman, Li Xuelian, who lives in rural China and spends over 20 years earning back society's respect after her former husband tarnished her reputation.

When Liu was told that the novel was going to be adapted into a comedy, he was intrigued.

"The line between comedy and tragedy is blurry. Li Xuelian's story is sad, apparently, but it's a great story for a comedy. A good comedy makes you laugh even as you despair," says Liu.

Directed by Ding Yiteng and produced by Drum Tower West Theater, a private theater located in the capital's downtown, the play, also titled I Did Not Kill My Husband, is going to tour nationwide from the weekend through June.

On Friday and Saturday, it will be staged in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, as the opening show for the Women Arts Festival of Guangzhou Grand Theater. Then it will go to other Chinese cities, including Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Shanghai and Beijing.

Liu, a winner of China's top literary prize, the Mao Dun Literature Award, says the novel was his first attempt to write from a female perspective. Known for his humor and keen observations, Liu describes the protagonist as "persistent and patient".

"No one listens to her and she just keeps on telling people her story. It's a woman's campaign to restore her honor after a divorce and false charges of sexual misdeeds made by her ex-husband," says Liu.

In 2016, the novel was adapted into a movie directed by Feng Xiaogang. Liu served as the scriptwriter for the movie, but didn't take up the position for the stage adaptation, instead passing the baton to scriptwriter Zhuo Bieling.

"I stayed loyal to the novel and kept 80 percent of the original lines," says Zhuo. "I came to watch rehearsals every day and the cast kept on inspiring me to be creative. I cannot remember how many times I've revised the script."

Liu says: "It's great to have a female scriptwriter adapt the novel into a play. From the few scenes I've watched during the rehearsals, I can tell that she is loyal to my novel, yet also bold while adapting it."

The novelist is also impressed by the director's creativity. Ding, 30, worked with Eugenio Barba, one of Europe's leading directors, at the globally acclaimed Odin Teatret in Denmark in 2015. He is also an actor, who made his debut in 2012 in the Chinese play, To Live, directed by Meng Jinghui.

In 2016, Ding made his directorial debut by adapting the classic tale, Dou E Yuan, by Guan Hanqing, a prominent playwright and poet of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), into a Chinese play. He not only directed the play but also filled the leading role of Dou E, a woman, who is wrongly convicted of murder by a corrupt court official.

"There are some connections between Li Xuelian and Dou E.Both are women who have been badly treated," says Ding. "The story of Li Xuelian is full of satire, so I turned it into a comedy, which seems a little crazy."

Ding combines a variety of elements in the play, such as Peking Opera-a 200-year-old traditional Chinese art form-and hip-hop dance. He has gathered a group of young male actors, who perform different roles, such as the people gossiping about Li and the indifferent officials that Li consults in a bid to restore her reputation.

Chinese actress Zhang Xinyi, who is known for her roles in movies and TV dramas, will play the role of Li.

"Li Xuelian is my first experience of acting in a play, which excites me very much," says Zhang, 40, who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 2004, with a major in acting. She adds that she watched lots of plays during her university years.

"By the time I graduated, I had to make a living by acting in TV dramas and movies, because there were fewer opportunities to act in theaters," says Zhang. "It's like a longtime wish for me to act in a play in the theater, which has now been fulfilled.

"The struggle of the woman is beyond my imagination, since I have never experienced the betrayal of a husband and the mocking of people around me. The play's unique sense of humor makes the character's sadness even greater," she says.

It's not the first time that Drum Tower West Theater has adapted one of Liu's novels into a play. According to Li Yangduo, the theater's founder and owner, it also adapted Liu's novel, Someone to Talk To, into a play, which premiered in 2018.

"His words are simple but they will linger in your memory long after you have finished watching," says Li Yangduo.

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