The Chinese version of the Gin Game, adapted from a play by American writer D.L.Coburn, was first performed in China in 1985. Nearly 30 years after its debut, the play is once again hitting the stage at the Capital theatre in Beijing. Delving into the world of senior citizens, the play tries to portray the connection between loneliness and filling out the days in old age.

The "Gin Game" is famous for being a play with only 2 characters.

Despite being the only two performers on stage, veteran actor Pu Cunxin and actress Gong Lijun played the part convincingly.

The play tells the story of Weller and Fonsia, both living at a nursing home.

The two play Gin Rummy to kill time, while chatting about the ups and downs in their lives.

Not having the luxury of supporting characters, their acting skills were truly being put to the test.

"I have to pay tribute to our predecessors who've inspired us a lot. But we haven't simply learned from them, we've really put ourselves into the roles, as a result, we've created the characters of our own," Pu says.

Having to play sinister, sarcastic roles, Pu and Gong, who are known to be mild and courteous, both had to leave their comfort zone, and delve into a role that seemed polar opposites than their true characters.

"We finally made it. Sometimes, we were very disappointed, because both of us basically are mild, and polite people, we couldn't act as sarcastic and mean people. There is a scene that one of us slaps the other on the face. We ended up faking it, we didn't do it for real," Pu says.