New and Now: Plays from China, a Series of New Readings

The Royal Court Theatre in partnership with the British Council announce new readings of work with writers based in China. This series of public readings titled New and Now: Plays from China will take place in The Site at the Royal Court Theatre from Tuesday 4 December 2018 to Thursday 6 December 2018.

The Royal Court Theatre began working in China in 2015. Fifteen young playwrights were chosen to take part in workshops in Chengdu, Beijing and Wuzhen over a two year period and invited to address subjects they felt urgent to write about in contemporary China.

Three of these writers, CHEN Si’an (陈思安), YANG Jingguan (杨静观) and ZHANG Zai (张在), will spend two weeks at the Royal Court Theatre working with directors Jude Christian and Royal Court Associate Director (International) Sam Pritchard and a company of actors. The plays will then be presented as rehearsed readings in English translation.

Please find details of the readings below;

在荒野(Underpass)

Written by CHEN Si’an (陈思安)

Translated by Jeremy Tiang
The Site, Royal Court Theatre

6.15pm Tuesday 4 December 2018 & 8.15pm Wednesday 5 December 2018

In the depths of a Beijing underpass, a homeless mother struggles to protect her child. A disturbing panorama of the city’s hidden underside, asking urgent questions about the value of human lives in an urban jungle.

咸城 (Salt City)

Written by YANG Jingguan (杨静观)

Translated by Sophie Gregg
The Site, Royal Court Theatre

6.15pm Wednesday 5 December 2018 & 8.15pm Thursday 6 December 2018

A retired clerk searches for meaning in a city he helped create but no longer recognises. Is the appearance of a meteorite the opportunity for local renewal, as his children claim? Or do the answers he seeks lie with a strange young woman he meets outside a corner shop? A poetic dystopian drama packed with the tension between generations that marks Chinese life today.

三月天，娃娃脸 (Babyface)

Written by ZHANG Zai（张在）

Translated by Jeremy Tiang
The Site, Royal Court Theatre

8.15pm Tuesday 4 December 2018 & 6.15pm Thursday 6 December 2018

A young, single woman. An older, married man. A passionate on-again, off-again love affair. The Chinese term ‘little three’ has become shorthand for a national phenomenon – but what human story lies behind that phrase? A funny, erotic and surreal journey into modern Chinese love lives.

There will also be a discussion event about the development of all three plays and the impact of contemporary writing in Chinese Theatre with playwrights CHEN Si’an (陈思安), YANG Jingguan (杨静观) and ZHANG Zai (张在), chaired by Elyse Dodgson, International Director, Royal Court Theatre. Discussion: New Writing In China  will take place in The Site on Thursday 6 December 9:30pm and is free with a ticket to any of the readings.

Public booking opens Friday 21 September 10am. To book tickets visit the show page.

For more information see the full press release.

The Royal Court Theatre’s work in China is in partnership with the British Council.