Self Immolation

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ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Zhang Xian (China) started his career as one of the first independent Chinese playwrights in the post-Mao era. During this period he produced most of his work underground. He now is a well-known playwright, screenwriter, director, and activist in the fields of theatre and film. His theatre works have been performed in China, Europe, and America. The first dance-theatre performance he directed won the ZKB Patronage Prize at Zurich’s Zuercher Theater Spektakel 2006. He wrote the screenplays for the films Those Left Behind, which won the Golden Pyramid Award at the 16th Cairo International Film Festival, and Jasmine Flower, which won the jury prize at the 7th Shanghai International Film Festival. Zhang also initiated the independent drama group Z and the dance-theatre group Zuhe Niao, and was one of the founders of the Hard Han Café Theatre and of Down Stream Garage, which is the first nonprofit art and performance space in Shanghai. He works as curator and organizer of various non-governmental art festivals in Shanghai.

Translated from the Chinese by Guo Li and Benjamin Read.

September 05, 2008
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