PCI staff return to China for intercultural collaboration celebrating Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu
The project has generated new avenues for research in bilinguality, intercultural performance, and the creative use of artificial intelligence in theatre-making
A decade after first performing in China, colleagues from the University of Leeds’ School of Performance and Cultural Industries have returned to Fuzhou to take part in the 7th Tang Xianzu International Theatre Exchange, presenting a new piece that combines British and Chinese theatrical traditions.
The production, Dreaming Under the Bough, was created by stage@leeds in collaboration with the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing. It was commissioned by the Municipal Government of Fuzhou - the birthplace of Ming dynasty playwright Tang Xianzu – to open the 2025 festival, which celebrates cultural exchange and the enduring influence of Tang and William Shakespeare.
The project builds on the long-standing partnership between Leeds and UIBE, whose previous collaboration in 2016 marked the 400th anniversary of the playwrights’ deaths with a bilingual adaptation of Tang’s Nanke Ji (Dreaming Under the Southern Bough). That earlier production toured the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Beijing, Shanghai, and Fuzhou with support from the University’s Confucius Institute, China Eastern Airlines, and the Footsteps Fund.
For this new commission, directors Steve Ansell (stage@leeds) and Professor Li Jun (UIBE) created a 40-minute contemporary performance intertwining A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Nanke Ji. Using artificial intelligence tools to generate the initial bilingual script, the team then refined it through traditional rehearsal and writing processes to produce a “heterogeneous” play – one in which characters speak English and Mandarin interchangeably.
The production was rehearsed entirely online, with four UK actors and three actors from China working across a seven-hour time difference before meeting in person for the first time in Fuzhou. Dreaming Under the Bough was performed twice at the festival and once in Beijing, receiving an enthusiastic response from audiences and officials alike.
Alongside the performances, members of the company took part in Shakespeare and Tang: A Youth Dialogue in Fuzhou, with Steve Ansell, Professor Li Jun, and Dr Xunnan Li delivering talks on bilingual theatre and intercultural collaboration. During an official ceremony, the Leeds team presented UIBE with a recording, costume, and set piece from the original 2016 production.
Reflecting on the experience, Steve Ansell said:
“This project reminded us of theatre’s power to cross linguistic, cultural and geographical boundaries. Working collaboratively online with our colleagues in Beijing and Fuzhou, 6,000 miles apart, was both challenging and inspiring. When we finally met in person, it felt like old friends coming together. The response from audiences in China showed that bilingual theatre can speak meaningfully to everyone, regardless of language.”
The project has generated new avenues for research in bilinguality, intercultural performance, and the creative use of artificial intelligence in theatre-making. Future publications will explore the artistic and technical insights gained from the process.
“The collaboration has deepened our connections with partners in China and demonstrated the creativity, resilience, and global perspective that define our work at Leeds,” added Steve Ansell.
