Theater director Huang Ying, who used to have a neatly shaved head, was asked about his shoulder-length hair when he appeared at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on Sept 27.
"I stayed at home for about seven months amid the coronavirus outbreak and didn't cut my hair," Huang recalls.
"But now it seems like a good decision."
Huang is director of the play, Crossroads, which is adapted from the eponymous 1937 Chinese movie. The work was commissioned by the NCPA.
The director of the movie, Shen Xiling, also had shoulder-length hair when it was filmed.
"I guess I could take inspiration from his long hair," Huang jokes.
The play will premiere at the NCPA from Oct 17 to 25 and will feature music performed by the NCPA Drama Ensemble.
The movie revolves around the experiences of four unemployed youth in Shanghai, who've just graduated from university.
It shows how their lives change amid social chaos during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). They join the army to fight for their country.
Chinese actor Zhao Dan and actress Bai Yang played the lead roles in the film.
Shen (1904-40) grew up in Hangzhou and studied art and theater in Tokyo.
After returning to China, he was involved in theatrical production and taught at an art school in Shanghai.
He made his directorial debut in 1933 and directed a few films before leaving Shanghai for Chongqing in 1939. He died in 1940 at age 36, but the films he left behind became classics of Chinese cinema.
"The movie is a romantic comedy, which also reflects society back then. The young people in the movie relate to today's young people, who pursue their dreams and love," Huang says.
Huang's adaptation combines the original plot of the movie with new stories. He also filmed the actors' rehearsals, and the footage will be shared with the play's audiences.
"It'll be a fun take on the classic movie. Audiences will enjoy something authentic from the film and something new," Huang adds.
"Friendship, love and responsibility are topics that relate to young people of any generation and deserve to be discussed today."
Huang is one of China's most successful theater directors with over 40 plays under his belt. He was drawn to theater after watching the classic Chinese play, Antique, directed by renowned Beijing People's Art Theater director Lin Zhaohua in 1997.
The then 18-year-old Huang, who was born and raised in Beijing, was very impressed by the play, which follows a competition between two Beijing-based antiques collectors from the 1900s to the 1930s, as well as the vivid stage portrayals by the actors, including Pu Cunxin and Liang Guanhua.
After watching the play, Huang spent a year reading books about theater and watching over 100 theater performances in the capital in 1997 and'98.
Then, Huang, who majored in biochemistry and molecular biology at China Agricultural University in Beijing, boldly decided to become a theater director.
After earning his bachelor's degree from China Agricultural University, Huang studied directing at the Central Academy of Drama.
In 2016, Huang earned his doctoral degree in directing from the Beijing Film Academy, where Huang has taught since 2005.
"My teaching experience with the Beijing Film Academy allowed me to research Chinese movies from the 1930s and '40s," Huang says.
"Crossroads is definitely one of the most successful and timeless movies."
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