Towards a Modern Zen Theatre

Gao Xingjian, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Literature, has been the most important and productive playwright in the powerful Chinese Experimental Theatre Movement. This study by Henry Zhao, Senior Lecturer in Modern Chinese at the University of London, illustrates the key issues within the movement by concentrating on Gao's work and by comparing his dramatic aesthetic with modern experimental Western theater. The author's purpose is not only to explore Gao's contributions to Experimental Theatre, but also to answer difficult questions about the movement's impact and future role.