WANG CHONG and Postdramatisches Theatre

Abstract

This paper explores the new, emerging generation of directors in China in the 21st century, focusing on one of the most successful among them, WANG Chong. He received the Festival/Tokyo award for Minefight 2.0 (2013) suggesting his increasing popularity also in Japan.

More than thirty years have passed since the introduction of experimental theatre into China in 1982 by the dramatists GAO Xingjian and LIU Huiyuan with the director LIN Zhaohua in their performance of Absolute Signal. The stage production of WANG Chong is striking for its thorough deconstruction of original plays as hypo-texts compared to LIN Zhaohua or MENG Jinghui, another important similar playwright.

WANG shows great interest in Hans-Thies Lehmann's Postdramatisches Theater, from which he has gained great creative inspiration. It is to be said that WANG Chong's works have influenced Chinese theatrical world's concept of “postdramatic theatre”.