Staging Kafka’s Ape in China

Noting the core of Kafka's work is self-domestication, director Xi Wang said this line may especially resonate with Chinese audiences, who, usually out of a need to meet social expectations, study hard, sit the gaokao, and attend a good university to secure a decent job.

Aside from marveling at Li's apt, comical, and emotional performance, audiences were awestruck at the fact that he acted on an empty stage.

"For many Chinese audience members, this theatergoing experience may strike them as strange because theater in China almost always involves a lot of scenery, lighting, and sound effects," the director remarked.

The director and the actor, both influenced by the teachings of late British theater director Peter Brook, agreed to approach this solo piece with minimalism that is advocated by Brook.

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