THE world première of The Autumn of Han, a classic Chinese play, is set to tour the UK this autumn and comes to Ledbury's Market Theatre on Saturday, November 22.

This new production, adapted for European audiences, is produced by Red Dragonfly Productions, a company that has been formed by British and British East Asian artists to bring East Asian stories to the British Stage.

The tale is one of love and revenge. When the beautiful concubine ZhaoJun refuses to supply the corrupt minister MaoYanShou with his usual bribe he makes sure she’s hidden away from the Emperor, but ZhaoJun is a resourceful woman and engineers a chance meeting with the Emperor. When the Emperor sets eyes on her he immediately falls in love, and this sets off a chain of events that sees all their lives changed forever.

"There is a wealth of wonderful stories from the East that have never been seen on a British stage," says Michelle Yim, one of the founders of Red Dragonfly, and we want to give the British audience a chance to experience them. This also provides a great opportunity for some of Britain's very talented East Asian actors, who are often overlooked, to showcase their work."

The Autumn of Han was adapted for the stage by Ross Ericson, whose critically acclaimed play Casualties is published by Methuen. 'Us Europeans often find classical Chinese drama quite impenetrable,' Ericson said, "so my job was to put the story into a structure and language that would be familiar to European audiences whilst retaining the authenticity and spirit of the original text."

To book for The Autumn of Han at The Market Theatre, Ledbury, on Saturday, November 22 at 8pm. To book, call the box office on 07967-517125 or visit markettheatre.com