Im Dialog mit dem chinesischen Schauspieljahrhundert. Studien zum Theater von Lin Zhaohua

Since the early 1980s, Lin Zhaohua – the “big director” – has been exploring new paths for contemporary Chinese theatre. Audiences and critics reacted with divergent statements: some people labelled him as “avant-garde”, others even called him a “renegade”, Lin himself often declares to be “very traditional”. This study examines 12 of Lin Zhaohua’s recent productions in the context of the Chinese “modern drama century”. The case studies include Lin’s work with contemporary Chinese drama-texts as well as Lin’s adaptations of international theatre classics by Shakespeare, Chekhov and Ibsen. The analyses work both on interconnections with Chinese spoken drama as well as with xiqu or opera traditions. By discussing a number of additional sources such as theatre reviews, booklets and others, this study further aims to provide an approach to contemporary Chinese theatre more broadly.