I Love XXX and Other Plays

Meng Jinghui

Translated by Claire Conceison

Edited and Introduced by Claire Conceison

Forthcoming

 

6 x 7.5 inches, 320 pp. December 2016

ISBN : 9780857423849

Rs  950.00 (PB)
$45.00 (PB)
£31.50 (PB)

Buy (PB)

Since premiering his pioneering linguistic experiment I Love XXX in Beijing nearly twenty-five years ago, Meng Jinghui has been credited with revitalizing Chinese theater by popularizing the avant-garde. Mixing high culture with mass culture, his plays address China’s enduring revolutionary nostalgia and current social problems, challenging the artistic status quo from the mainstream rather than the margins. His creations range from new interpretations of canonical Western masters such as Shakespeare and Genet to improvisational collaborations with actors on original works. This anthology from China’s most influential theatre practioner makes his plays available to an international readership in English for the first time.

 

The collection, chosen by Meng and renowned Chinese theatre scholar and translator Claire Conceison, represents the breadth of Meng’s work. ‘I Love XXX’ and Other Plays includes the title piece, Longing for Worldly Pleasures, The Bedbug, Head Without Tail and Two Dogs’ Opinions on Life, as well as a DVD featuring selected scenes from each of the plays.

Meng Jinghui earned his master’s degree in directing at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in 1991. He is on staff at the National Theatre of China and maintains his own workshop Meng Jinghui Studio. China’s most famous theatre creator, his work has been featured in international festivals throughout the world.

 

Claire Conceison is Quanta professor of Chinese culture and Pprofessor of theatre studies at MIT. A scholar, translator and director, she is the author of Significant Other: Staging the American in China (2004) and Voices Carry: Behind Bars and Backstage During China’s Revolution and Reform (2009).

In Performance