A scene from the theater production The Annoyance of the Gods. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Journey to the West, China's most famous story of pilgrimage, has a new spin-off theater production on tour nationwide.

The Annoyance of the Gods, based on the book of the same title by Ma Boyong, the pen name of Ma Li, premiered in Shanghai before Spring Festival, winning box-office success and critical acclaim. The stage version will debut its national tour with two performances on March 4 to 5 at the Wuxi Grand Theatre in East China's Jiangsu province.

One of the most celebrated Chinese literary classics, Journey to the West was written by Wu Cheng'en in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is loosely based on Buddhist monk Xuanzang (602-664) and his pilgrimage to India. Wu's novel features Xuanzang and his disciples possessing magical talents. The story follows their encounters with demons and the supernatural along the way.

Ma, 45, widely popular for his fantasy books that often integrate ancient Chinese culture and literary classics, is best known for his reinterpretation of major historical events focusing on small incidents and unknown characters. The Annoyance of the Gods was published in 2023 and is recognized as one of the Ma's most important works.

Ma Boyong (left), author of the novel, and Liu Tianchi (middle), director of the theater production at the premiere, in Shanghai on Jan 15. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In Ma's novel, Xuanzang's pilgrimage is designed by the heavenly court, to promote him to deity ranking. The story's hero is Li Changgeng, who is known in Chinese folklore as a Taoist deity. Li is in charge of the planet Venus, which is known in mythology as Jin Xing, meaning "the gold star".

In the novel, Li is a mid-level deity responsible for planning and executing Xuanzang's adventures. The story portrays the heavenly court as a corporate-like mechanism filled with office politics, peer pressure, moral dilemmas and other challenges faced by modern office workers.

The theater adaptation is directed by Liu Tianchi, a versatile theater artist who has been an actor, director, performance coach, and associate professor at The Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. "Even deities and immortals are not free of trouble and contradiction. I hope the audience finds confidence in solving their everyday problems," she says.

Liu assembled a versatile cast and brought together actors of diverse backgrounds, including dancers and Peking Opera performers, to spark new expressions and chemistry that best interpret the story's color, richness and depth, and to resonate with audiences.

Zu Feng, the actor playing protagonist Li Changgeng, read the digital manuscript of the book before it was published and was immediately attracted to Ma's writing.

"I saw in it the potential for a good theatrical production," Zu told the media before the premiere in Shanghai in January. "Since our childhoods, we have been familiar with the stories in Journey to the West; and Ma created a new world behind the classical tale in such a masterful way that readers can relate to the story," he says.

While Zu is a veteran actor in theater, TV and movies, Liu Yang, a stand-up comedian and social media influencer, plays another lead role. This is his first time playing a lead role in a theater production.

After the shows in Wuxi, the production will tour through the end of May to Hangzhou, Wenzhou and Ningbo in Zhejiang province, Beijing, Nanjing and Suzhou in Jiangsu province, Chongqing, Chengdu in Sichuan province, and Zhuhai in Guangdong province.