China’s playwrights walk fine line between censorship and artistic freedom
- Pop-up performances in coffee shops and other unusual venues are part of the ‘guerilla’ tactics employed by Chinese dramatists
“A rebellious spirit is very dangerous. If an artist is in trouble in China everybody will cut connections, cooperation and conversation with them,” writer-director Wang Chong said on the sidelines of the 7th annual Wuzhen Theatre Festival near Shanghai.
Wuzhen’s government promotes the town as an arts centre, which affords directors a sliver more creative leeway than elsewhere but, even in this ancient canal town, Wang employs what he calls “tricks” to avoid trouble from a government that is pushing “red” theatre extolling the one-party Communist state.
His latest – a thinly veiled swipe at China’s surveillance state – was performed outdoors in Wuzhen by four randomly selected audience members who received their lines and prompts via headphones.