Gao Xingjian and Lin Zhaohua are two directors bent on dramatic experiment. The main purpose of their experimenting with little theater drama is to strengthen theater's contact with the audience by using the advantages of modern drama.
The story of Absolute Signal takes place in the last passenger compartment of a train. It depicts a depressed and perplexed young man whom trips and then turns over a new leaf by deciding to part with the train bandits. The play's success lies, of course, in addressing a common question faced by any youth growing up in a new environment. But what appeals more to the audience is the play's unique form of expression and its exploration and presentation of the character's inner world.

First, the play stresses the contact between the actors and the audience and shortens the distance in between the two by being performed in a little theater.

Second, it places the character in a stage scene, with frequent switches between reality, dream, and memory, thus guiding the audience to feel the bottom of the character's soul. The play externalizes the character's moods, feelings, and psychology.

The success of Absolute Signal stimulated the dramatists' desire to explore little theater.