Her reign coincided with the empire's tumultuous decline. Cixi entered the Forbidden City as a concubine in 1851, at age 16, and delivered Emperor Xianfeng his only male heir five years later ...

Now 28, and alternately based in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Tan is starring in Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Forbidden City: Portrait Of An Empress, which was first commissioned by the ...