The little theater movement went on hand in hand with dramatic experimentation. The little theater movement was experimental and usually avant-garde. In 1982, Absolute Signal directed jointly by Gao Xingjian and Liu Huiyuan signified the beginning of the movement. Performed in an original way, the play attracted much attention within the theater circle.

In April 1989, during the First Chinese Little Theater Drama Festival held in Nanjing, altogether 15 plays were performed, including Absolute Signal, You Should Not Bully Children and Old Men, Owl in the House, God of Fire and Girl of Autumn. A discussion was also held over the aesthetic features and meaning of little theater drama.

In 1993, Chinese Academy of Art and Society for the Research of Modern Chinese Drama jointly hosted 1993 Chinese Little Theater Drama Exhibition and International Academic Symposium in Beijing. Plays staged during the event included An Exercise of Feeling, A Lady at Home, Soul-Chilling Terror and A Phone Call Across the Pacific Ocean. It promoted the development and research of the little theater movement in China.

Gao Xingjian and Lin Zhaohua are two directors bent on dramatic experiment. The main purpose of their experiment with little theater drama was to strengthen its contact with the audience by using the advantages of modern drama.

From the birth date of 1982 up to now, China's Little Theater has had a history of almost twenty years and is a very important step in the development of modern Chinese Drama. Although commercializing of the art of modern drama is getting more and more attention, little theater drama is still facing a great challenge from a shrinking market.

-- Absolute Signal

The story of Absolute Signal is developed in the last passenger compartment of a train. It depicted a depressed and perplexed young man who tripped and then turned over a new leaf by making up his mind to break with the train bandits. The success of the play lies, of course, in addressing a common question faced by the youth that grow up in the new environment. But what appeals more to the audience is its 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 by performing it in a little theater. Second, it places the character in a stage scene switching frequently between reality, dream and memory, thus guiding the audience to feel the bottom of character's soul. It externalizes the character's moods, feelings and psychological activities.

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

General introduction

The Little Theater Movement is a movement that began around the turn of last century in Europe and which spread throughout the world, even to this day. "Little theater" refers to more intimate, community-oriented theater as opposed to the large, more commercially oriented fare of establishments such as Broadway. The plays of this movement are experimental and often avant-garde in nature.

For historical reasons, the Little Theater Movement did not hit China until 1982, which saw the opening of the play Absolute Signal, directed jointly by Gao Xingjian and Liu Huiyuan. Performed in an original way, the play attracted much attention within the theater circle.

In April 1989, during the First Chinese Little Theater Drama Festival held in Nanjing of East China's Jiangsu Province, a total 15 plays were performed, including Absolute Signal, You Should Not Bully Children and Old Men, Owl in the House, God of Fire, and Girl of Autumn. A discussion was also held over the aesthetic features and meaning of little theater drama. This festival had great significance in the Chinese drama scene, as it represented the drama artists' hard fight for the survival of Chinese drama.

In 1993, the Chinese Academy of Art and Society for the Research of Modern Chinese Drama jointly hosted the "1993 Chinese Little Theater Drama Exhibition" and the "International Academic Symposium" in Beijing. Plays staged during the event included An Exercise of Feeling A Lady at Home, Soul-Chilling Terror and A Phone Call Across the Pacific Ocean. Via the event, the academy promoted the development and research of the Little Theater Movement in China.

This year marks the 23rd year of the Chinese Little Theater Movement. During these 23 years, little theater has swept over China's modern drama scene. Especially in 1995, after the finish of the mini-theater in the Beijing People's Art Theater, the little theater developed energetically, and even greatly influenced the mainstream culture.
Presently, some worry the current little theater is too humorous and has stopped pursuing high artistic values for the sake of mere public entertainment. However, based on the high booking rate in some big cities, the little theater has already performed and continues to perform an important role in China's modern drama market.

Meng Jinghui: A Prodigy of Chinese Theater

Since 1998, anyone who claims never to have heard of the name Meng Jinghui could not claim to be a theatre devotee.

Meng Jinghui, the most active drama director in Beijing, is famed for his innovative, dashing style. His name has become synonymous with the phrase "box-office hit."

So far, Meng has more than ten plays to his credit, including Si Fan, The Balcony, I Love XXX, The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Rhinoceros in Love, and Bootleg Faust, with each successive film resounding throughout the film community, winning praise and acclaim. The New York Times credited him with a "remarkable resurgence of spoken drama" in China.

With his works, Meng has awakened many young people's love for drama and shaped their judgment of productions by other directors.

A standard Meng-brand play inevitably includes singing and satire, a recent social or cultural event, and honest till-death-do-us-part pure love, which is the hook that ensures the loyalty of his young following. The best example is Rhinoceros in Love, which premiered in 1999, and which became the first avant-garde small-theatre play that actually turned in a profit.

Watching little theaterhas become a kind of white-collar fashion. It can be said that Meng Jinghui founded a new kind of entertainment.

Absolute Signal

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..

In the Same Boat

If Absolute Signal is the masterpiece of China's little theater movement in the 1980s, then In the Same Boat belongs to the movement in the 1990s. The play aims not to experiment with but to approach the audience's soul. It wins over the audience with a poetic rediscovery of life and an excellent performance.

Written by Shen Hongguang and directed by Wang Jia'na, the play depicts the young couple Liu Qiang and Mi Ling and a retired teacher named Miss Fang who remains single her whole life. They live together in a cramped apartment..

Accidental Death of an Anarchist

This play is adapted from the Italian Nobel laureate Dario Fo's tragicomedy, which shows people a picture of police brutality, official corruption, and tyrannical absurdity in Italy in the 1960s. Several decades later, this play was modernized and localized by Meng Jinghui and his actors, who satirized almost every element of contemporary Chinese society worth targeting.

In this play, Meng added lots of material (including references to the lyrics of the often-censored rock star Cui Jian, Lao She's venerated theater classic Tea House, and Jiang Qing's Cultural Revolution "model operas."), It is a satire about human dignity, and makes fun of elements in Chinese society that many Chinese can relate to..

Rhinoceros in Love

People tell him, "Forget her."

But Ma Lu reply, "To forget is only a matter general people can make, but I have decided not to forget her."

This is classic dialogue from Rhinoceros in Love, which has caused a sensation throughout China since debuting in 1999.