A promotional poster for the dance drama "Garden".

The Beijing Dance Drama and Opera House will present the dance drama "Garden" at the Longgang Cultural Center Grand Theater on Oct 31 at 8 pm and Nov 1 at 3 pm.

Inspired by Karel Čapek's classic play R.U.R., which originally coined the word "robot", the production is set on a barren planet in the future where humans mass-produce robots. An emotionally starved engineer secretly creates a robot with an extraordinary capacity for empathy, while another robot gifted to the general manager's wife slowly develops a sense of being alive.

First performed at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in September, the drama explores the essence of life and emotions rather than the surface-level pros and cons of technology. Using the "garden" as a spiritual image, it conveys a humanistic message of coexistence through love and renewal.

The creative team includes art director Xu Rui, directors Bai Hua and Gong Xingxing, and choreographer Xu Junrui. Lead roles are performed by Liu Jia as the awakened robot, Wang Jinge as the general manager's wife, and Zhang Zhenguo as the general manager.

Tickets range from 120 yuan ($17.9) to 580 yuan ($86.9), with a 50 percent early-bird discount available for most ticket categories.