A murder in 11th century Japan. Four different versions of the truth, some comedic, some dramatic. Which tale is sincere?

Kimberley Chin and her students have been working on this production since late February and are currently in dress rehearsals for the dramatic production of “Rashomon.” Four characters will describe their version of the murder and will let the audience decide which story is true.

“I like the whole idea of having different versions of the truth,” said Vincent Cruz, who plays Takahiro (the husband) in the play.

The student performers will dress in traditional Japanese attire and will even speak a few of their lines in Japanese.

“They are doing a great job with the Japanese language that I threw into the script,” said Chin. “It is almost like survival Japanese.”

In recent BC productions, the audience has been seated on the stage in a three quarter round to view the play, but for this show all the seats in the theater will be open.

Chin and her students attended the Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco this past weekend where they viewed a parade in Japan town. While there, they picked up several props for the play including hats, socks and scrolls of Japanese writing on rice paper.

“I think just being exposed to the Japanese people helped the students,” said Chin.

“It helped to hear the language spoken by the native people and see the native costumes.”

The play will run from April 28-30 and May 5-7. It begins at 8 p.m. and tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for students, staff and seniors.

“This play has everything,” said Keith Silvas who plays Tajomaru (the bandit).

“In one version, we are weaker and in my version, I am, of course, all heroic.”