It is a play about the elderly living in a seaside sanatorium. The hero is the chief doctor in the sanatorium, who left Moscow to live and work and to guard the grave of his wife, who died in the war.

The heroine is an active patient, who hides the pain she feels for existence deep beneath her cheerful and fashionable appearance.

Conflicts happen between the two, followed by further communication, until love breaks the quietness of the heart.

The dramatist A.N. Arbuzov was active in the former Soviet Union, working as actor, director and theatre head. Arbuzov wrote over 50 plays, most of them about youth.

Lou Jicheng and Cao Lei (pictured) appear as the hero and heroine. The two co-operated in a play named "The Younger Generation" 40 years ago. Lou is also the play's director.

The play tells a moving love story in a clean and lyrical style. The warm feeling, simple relations, and familiar former Soviet Union songs, will arouse feeling of nostalgia among Chinese audiences.

The play was staged successfully in Shanghai in 1997, with 44 performances.

7:15pm, February 2-12

Dramatic Salon

3F, Dramatic Arts Centre

288 Anfu Lu

Tel: 6473-0123, 6473-4567

80 yuan

(Shanghai Star January 31, 2003)