The Magic Hour, a Chinese theater adaptation of the Japanese movie of the same title, premiered in Shanghai on July 25 and will embark on a tour around China in the coming two months.

Produced by Mailive, the theater production branch of Damai, a major ticketing platform in China, the play starring Zheng Yunlong, Yan Nan and Zong Juntao was directed by Li Ren.

The play will be presented in Chongqing, Suzhou of Jiangsu province, Beijing, Hangzhou of Zhejiang province and Shenzhen of Guangdong province in August and September.

The original movie was written and directed by Koki Mitani. Released in 2008, it tells the story of a hustler who has an affair with the girlfriend of a gang boss. To make good with the don, he agrees to find a mysterious hitman for him. He has no idea how to contact the assassin and instead hires an actor to play the role. Zheng plays the hired actor, who despite his dedicated love for filmmaking, remains unknown. His obsession with acting leads to comic and absurd consequences.

"I really like this character," Zheng said before the premiere in Shanghai. "I was very much touched by, and identify with the passion and idealism he has for the acting career." Zheng, a veteran actor who used to play the leading roles in the Chinese version of Frankenstein, has taken the new job as the producer of the Magic Hour.

"We loved the original film of Mitani," said Li, the director. "We hope by adapting it to Chinese theater, we can recreate on the stage the story filled with laughter and tears, pay our tribute to the art of movie and theater, and hopefully inspire audience's empathy for the dreams and love of the characters."

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