The (0) WIDELY (WIDE) acclaimed Mamma Mia is to be the first major Western musical to be translated for the Chinese stage. But is it possible to produce a successful 1ADAPT of a Western show in Chinese? The world is about to find out. When the 2PLAY Catherine Johnson wrote the original plot, based on the music of the Swedish band Abba in 1999, she couldn't have imagined that it would come this far. It remains to be seen what the band's 3LYRIC Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, will make of the translation. Some words were initially 4INTERPRET and had to be corrected. Some of the Western choreography considered to be of 5QUESTION taste in China has given way to traditional folk dances to render the show more appropriate for local audiences. 'It's certainly been an 6PRECEDE challenge,' laughs one member of the British production team, 'but so far the show's been received enthusiastically by everyone who has seen the 7VIEW showing. So we'll have to wait and see.' Meanwhile, 8STAGE in the dressing rooms the atmosphere is tense, as the curtain rises on this ambitious production.