About us

 

Founded in 2008, Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental has emerged as a major force in Chinese experimental theatre. Based in Beijing, the company was established to challenge what it sees as an increasingly commercialized and conservative theatrical landscape. Its works span political, physical, documentary, multimedia, and cross cultural performances, consistently pushing against aesthetic and ideological boundaries.

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Wang Chong is the founder and artistic director of Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental and is the most internationally commissioned Chinese theatre director. Born in Beijing in 1982, he earned a BA in Law from Peking University before completing an MA in Theatre at the University of Hawaii.

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In 2012, Wang initiated the Chinese New Wave Theatre Movement, presenting a series of performances distinguished by their innovative integration of physical language, live video, and sound. The movement, still ongoing, received both critical recognition and popular attention. In April 2020, at the height of the pandemic, he directed an online production of Waiting for Godot, performed live by four actors in three cities, including locked down Wuhan. The production reached a record audience of 290,000 viewers. UK-based magazine International Arts Manager wrote: “Taking a radical approach to both form and text, Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental has been changing the face of China’s theatrical landscape.”

 

Wang’s works have been presented in more than twenty countries across six continents. Festivals and platforms include Festival/Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Festival, Seoul Asian Theater Directors Festival, Singapore International Festival of Arts, Israel Festival, Melbourne Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts, Adelaide OzAsia Festival, Noorderzon Festival Groningen, Festival de Keuze Rotterdam, Passage Festival Helsingør, Oslo International Ibsen Festival, and Under the Radar Festival in New York.

 

His major productions include The Warfare of Landmine 2.0, recipient of the Festival/Tokyo Award; Lu Xun, named the Best Chinese Production of the Year by The Beijing News; and Teahouse 2.0, which received the One Drama Award for Best Little Theatre Production.

 

Wang has also translated and directed the Chinese premieres of Heiner Müller’s Hamletmachine, Peter Handke’s Self-Accusation, Sarah Kane’s Crave, Nick Payne’s Constellations, Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, and Woody Allen’s Central Park West.

 

He was named New Artist of the Year by The Beijing News and has received fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University and the Asian Cultural Council in New York, as well as the Han Suyin Award for Young Translators.

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