Details

On 3 April 2011, as he was boarding a flight to Taipei, the Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Airport. Advised merely that his travel "could damage state security", he was escorted to a van by officials after which he disappeared for 81 days. On his release, the government claimed that his imprisonment related to tax evasion. Howard Brenton's new play is based on recent conversations with Ai in which he told the story of that imprisonment - by turns surreal, hilarious, and terrifying. A portrait of the Artist in extreme conditions, it is also an affirmation of the centrality of Art and of freedom of speech in civilised society.

Creatives/Company

Author: Howard Brenton (based on Barnaby Martin's conversations with Ali Weiwei)

What's On By Year ...

Archive listings for #aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei (2013)

Work type: Play.

T01177369054

Producer Hampstead Theatre. Director James Macdonald. Design Ashley Martin Davis. Lighting Matthew Richardson. Sound Emma Laxton. Choreographer Scott Ambler. Performer Christopher Goh. Performer Junix Inocian. Performer Andrew Koji. Performer Orion Lee. Performer David Lee-Jones. Performer Andrew Leung. Performer Richard Rees. Performer David Tse. Performer Benedict Wong.

11 Apr 13 to 18 May 13

Hampstead Theatre, Inner London :: V202
listing details L1718954964

Reviews

No UKTW or User reviews available.

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CORONAVIRUS: All venues in the UK were shut down on March 16, 2020, and the restrictions were finally lifted on July 19, 2021. It is important to mention that the UK Theatre Web archive listings (iUKTDb) from March 2020 to July 2021 might not be accurate due to the lack of information regarding rescheduled and cancelled shows.