Abstract

Leading director Meng Jinghui's theatrical works move toward a more popular and urbanized theatre in contemporary China. Meng's Rhinoceros in Love provides a poignant reflection of the capitalist cultural condition. This paper examines the significance of this work as well as Meng's theatrical vision from the angle of subjectivity, and reads Meng's cultivation of subjectivity not as subversive or reflective, but as individualized and privatized "psychic interiority." The notion of popular theatre is discussed in the context of the avant-garde in China.

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