An old man takes the wrong medication and needs to be sent to the hospital at once. Having found out the dying process is not painful, he realises that this could be a once-in-a-life-time opportunity for “The Big Happy Dying”- a chance not to be missed! Going to the hospital? What a stupid choice! His young grandson, however, persuades grandpa to live rather than to die. Is it more important to live long or to embrace the moments that matter to you the most?

The Big Happy Dying is focused on exploring life and death in a lively and hilarious fashion while being entertaining and inspiring. An inevitable clash between the two generations elicits a dialogue of life and death at the very last moment of life, a battle of ideologies that ponder the meaning of life itself and the attitude toward death. 

The performance depicts how Lin Xiangru, a commoner in the state of Zhao, rose to the role of chief minister through historical events including “Returning the Jade to Zhao” and “The Meeting at Mianchi”. When his status became as high as the experienced general Lian Po, Lian became jealous and swore enmity. Eventually, Lian realised Lin’s noble intentions and made an apology widely known as “Carrying Thorned Grass and Pleading Guilt”, an honorable act that reverberated through the ages. 

Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru highlighted the values in traditional Chinese culture as exemplified in the classical text. Adopting the “theatre-in-education” approach, the actors broke the fourth wall and analysed the nuances in the word usage of the classical text, leading the audience to appreciate the intricate and unique richness of classical Chinese as well as the Chinese language in general.