[Photo provided to China Daily]

From 2007 to 2014, he produced Peking Opera shows based on the great Chinese novel Water Margin, written by Shi Nai'an in the 14th century about an outlawed group.

Wu combined the opera with rock, hip-hop and kuai shu (a traditional art form in which stories are recited with the help of bamboo clappers) for the shows.

His troupe also translates Chinese lines into English for the benefit of non-Chinese audiences.

Wu practices singing, stretching and martial arts daily to help his Peking Opera sessions. In Kingdom of Desire, in which he plays a role, he backflips from a 2-meter-high platform onstage.

Peking Opera is still under threat although it has seen some revival in audience interest in the recent past, he says.

"I want to do more productions to prove the beauty and value of Peking Opera."

If you go

7:30 pm, May 5-6. Tianqiao Performing Arts Center, 9 Tianqiao South Street, Xicheng district, Beijing. 400-635-3355.