Chinese Theatre Archives Archives

Marketing, Sales And Production Are Crucial For The Survival And Success Of Any Project

by Ivanka Apostolova Baskar | Mar 16, 2026 | China, Interview, Israel, Management | 0

An Interview with Mr. Meir Bar-Giora (Hungary/Israel/China), theatre and performing arts agent...

The 12th Dangdai Xiao Juchang Xiqu Jie (Contemporary Black Box Xiqu Festival当代小剧场戏曲节) by Star Theatres (繁星戏剧村) in Beijing 2025

by Xunnan Li and Yuan Du | Dec 2, 2025 | China, Festivals, News | 0

The Dangdai Xiao Juchang Xiqu Jie (Contemporary Black Box Xiqu Festival), operated at Star Theatres, has been a significant engine for contemporary experimentation of Xiqu (Chinese traditional theatre) since its establishment in 2014. Now entering its 12th year in 2025, the festival has supported more than 200 experimental Xiqu projects, drawing millions of audience members from across China. It remains one of the earliest and most influential cultural clusters where emerging Xiqu artists can articulate their creative voices in a flexible, low-cost, and artist-centred environment. Reading the slogan “He He” (和合harmony and collaboration) of this year’s festival and speaking with its founder and CEO, Mr. Fan Xing, I argue that this longstanding initiative has grown into a hybrid cultural space and the meaning of “He He” performatively means a harmonious collaboration between the futurist experimentation and the deep-rooted nostalgia.

Ambiguous Space: A Review of the Chinese Play “L’histoire d’un Accident” at Avignon 2025

by Xunnan Li | Jul 26, 2025 | Avignon 2025, China, Chinese Theatre Abroad, Design, Review | 0

Feng Lu’s “L’histoire d’un Accident”, presented in Avignon 2025, offers a layered exploration of theatrical space inspired by Henri Lefebvre’s theory of spatial production. The play unfolds through a play-within-a-play structure, blending backstage conflict, parody, and audience disruption to challenge the boundary between fiction and reality. A planted “spectator” blurs the line between performance and life, turning spatial ambiguity into a central aesthetic strategy. Rather than seeking clarity, the production invites audiences to dwell in uncertainty, where ambiguity becomes an essential part of how space is experienced, performed, and emotionally understood.

Chinese Traditional Theatre in the UK: Interview with Joanna Zenghui Qiu on the 10th Anniversary of the UK Chinese Opera Association

by Xunnan Li | Jul 24, 2025 | China, Chinese Theatre Abroad, News, Theatre and Opera | 0

In 2025, the UK Chinese Opera Association marks its 10th anniversary, celebrating a decade of bridging tradition and innovation in Chinese opera. Founded by Joanna Zenghui Qiu, a former performer with the Mei Lanfang Opera Troupe, the Association has become a cornerstone of Chinese cultural life in the UK. Inspired by her lead performance at the British Museum’s first Chinese New Year event during the 2015 UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange, Qiu established the Association to preserve and promote Chinese opera on British soil. Through performances at venues such as Buckingham Palace and grassroots programs like “Chinese Opera Fans’ Home” the Association has flourished as both an artistic platform and a diasporic community hub.

From Lawyer to Lyricist/Librettist: An Artist Profile of Jill Ohayon

by Morgan Skolnik | Feb 7, 2025 | China, Directing, Musical Theatre, United States of America, Worldwide | 0

Jill Ohayon grew up believing there were only two respectable career paths: doctor or lawyer. And...

Trauma In Translation: Stratford’s Milestone Salesman In China

by Barbara Gabriel | Oct 19, 2024 | Canada, China, Review, Theatre and Politics | 0

“My head feels like a bridge that all of Beijing has been walking over.” The stage is...

Contemporary Transnationalism Theatre in China: Theatre Review of “Apple Tree” directed by Feng Lu

by Xunnan Li | Aug 30, 2024 | China, Review, Theatre and Politics | 0

In 2024, National Theatre of China in Beijing showcased an experimental avant-garde theatre work “Apple Tree” to talk about the tension in the contemporary marriage between a young Chinese couple. Their tension in the marriage was reflected when the wife is suffering from the unexpected miscarriage.The play is such a transnational one. The director Feng was educated in France when he was young, with established exposure to the French film and theatre. In this play and his previous productions, there are huge amount of Roland’s style of using montage and space changing.

Adapting Lu Xun for the Contemporary Stage: A Production by China’s Central Academy of Drama at the Edinburgh Fringe Arts Festival: “ZhuJian (Forging the Swords)”

by Xunnan Li | Aug 28, 2024 | China, Chinese Theatre Abroad, Edinburgh 2024, Review | 0

Adapted from Lu Xun’s novel, the play takes the same name, “Zhu Jian” (Forging the Swords), and has become one of the most popular productions at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024. The work was brought to Edinburgh by a group of student actors from the Central Academy of Drama in China. Director Fengrui Yang is currently pursuing his doctoral training at the Academy. The play is notable for its re-examination of the theme of vengeance, a central idea in Lu Xun’s novel. Lu Xun is one of the most influential authors in modern China featured with his social criticism writing style in the 1920s.

Intercultural Chinese Dance Artist in the UK: Interview with Joanna Hangyu Zhou

by Xunnan Li | Aug 28, 2024 | China, Chinese Theatre Abroad, Edinburgh 2024, Interview | 0

UK-China Performing Arts (UKCPA), one of the UK’s most prominent Chinese performing arts organizations, plays a crucial role in bridging Chinese and British performing arts cultures. Joanna Hangyu Zhou, the founder of UKCPA and a former national-level dancer with a permanent position at China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater, has emerged as a leading international dance artist in the UK. Following her graduation with a master’s degree from the University of Roehampton in 2016, where she specialized in dance studies, Joanna embarked on a journey of exploring innovations in intercultural Chinese and British performing arts through artistic practice and education.