This paper advocates and illustrates the creation and use of dramatic plays as a pedagogical tool to awaken a love and appreciation for mathematics and its history. First, we outline some of the theory and challenges of writing dramatizations of historical episodes in mathematics aimed at bringing its history to life. Then we turn to the practicalities of how such a play may be mounted in a classroom context. As an example, we provide the synopsis of a workshop mounted at ESU-9, incorporating a play set in ancient China. All participants were involved in the production and enactment of this short pre-scripted play, requiring minimal preparation. The play was followed by discussion, small group work, and feedback. The responses of the participants are summarized at the end of the paper, and some guidelines are offered for discussion questions appropriate to other contexts. The play, given in full in an Appendix to this paper, introduces the multi-cultural story behind equation solving. In particular, it evokes the cultural context within which a Chinese mathematical practitioner may have operated about two millennia ago, and suggests how the Rule of Excess and Deficiency for equation solving could have been inspired and recorded, as Problem 17 in Chap. 7 of the Jiu zhang suan shu (The Nine Chapters). The dialogue is accessible and lively, laced with humour and emotions, portraying the excitement of mathematics-making. Such a play, based upon primary sources, can inspire interest in authentic contextual history of mathematics, while motivating and enlivening the learning of algebra.