Hu Jun to tread boards after 10-year break

Movie actor Hu Jun is returning to the stage after a 10-year hiatus. The mainland star of Lan Yu and Infernal Affairs II will have a role in The Wilderness, the latest production by the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

The classic drama, written by master dramatist Cao Yu, will be staged at the National Theatre in Beijing late next month to celebrate what would have been Cao's 100th birthday. Cao was the theatre's first president.

Hu will play Chouhu, who escapes from prison and returns to his home village to seek revenge for being set up. 'Our theatre president talked to me one day and said, 'let's do a drama'. I was shocked when he told me it was The Wilderness,' the 42-year-old said. 'I left the Beijing People's Art Theatre 10 years ago. Before I left, the last production I performed in was 2000's The Wilderness. Director Li Liuyi had turned it into a contemporary drama.'

He is also looking forward to collaborating with former schoolmate and Aftershock actress Xu Fan again in the drama. 'We were actually in the same class when we were at school, so we've collaborated many times,' he said.