All the world's a stage, but someone has to build it. Smooth Diao's day is going anything but. Judging by how the stagehands treat him, you wouldn't guess that he's the foreman who makes sure there's food on their tables - or that this bunch of yokels work for Xi'an's premier theatre company, where their unseen grafting makes all the dazzling performances possible. Whoever said showbusiness was glamorous? Keeping the gang out of trouble in the city's many dives and cheap noodle bars is a thankless job when all Smooth wants to do is get home in time every night to salvage his third marriage. So, when this motley crew is given a seemingly ideal chance to set the stage for a performance in the nation's capital, it's make or break. Can they set their internal drama aside and ignore the sneers of high society long enough to prove their worth? It's time someone noticed who really makes the show go on.

All the world's a stage, but someone has to build it.

About the Author
Chen Yan is a Chinese dramatist and novelist, born in Shaanxi province in 1963. His novel The Protagonist, which depicts the life of a performer of Qinqiang, a genre of folk opera originating in Shaanxi, won the 10th Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2019. He has over 25 years of experience in theatre and became president of Shaanxi Opera Research Institute in 2004.


Book Information
ISBN 9781838905378
Author Chen Yan
Format Hardback
Page Count 576
Imprint Sinoist Books
Publisher ACA Publishing Limited
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 30mm