Chinese stage drama “Rhinoceros in Love,” written by Liao Yimei and directed by her husband Meng Jinghui, will be shown in Shenzhen. The show has been performed thousands of times since it was debuted in 1999.

“Rhinoceros in Love” tells the story of desperate love. Rhinoceros caretaker, Ma Lu, and his secret love, Mingming, share an intimate encounter, but the girl leaves him the next day. To win Mingming’s heart, Ma has done all he could, but is overwhelmed by a deep desperation. To help him, salesman Toothbrush finds two young girls, Honghong and Lili, to pretend to be Ma’s admirers in an attempt to make Mingming jealous. Unfortunately, Ma’s madness results in his love-broker’s theory becoming a complete failure. One night, Ma, as crazy and stubborn as a rhinoceros, kidnaps Mingming in the name of love.

Despite early criticism by drama critics, the drama was an immediate success when it was launched in 1999 and since dubbed “The Bible of Love for Youngsters” in China.

Director Meng Jinghui said the idea of creating “Rhinoceros in Love” in 1999 was to reflect people’s anxiety and expectation at the end of a century. “It’s not only a love story. It’s more of a story about belief and about persisting with one’s dream,” he said. “The story is a combination of love, persistent pursuit and literary beauty. It is crazy, rebellious, but not to the extreme.”

Meng said the latest version of “Rhinoceros in Love” has the characteristics of today. “Society has changed. But the strong feelings of people are like a fire that never extinguishes,” he said.

The play was translated into English by Mark Talacko in 2012. A new English translation by Claire Conceison was commissioned by the BBC in 2014 for a radio play broadcast.

Time: 8 p.m., March 1-5; March 4-5 also at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets: 100-380 yuan

Venue: Theater Hall, Futian Cultural Hall, 3006 Fuqiang Road (福强路3006号福田区文化馆戏剧主题馆)

Metro: Line 3, Yitian Station (益田站), Exit B