Written and performed by avant-garde Chinese-Australian playwright and director Wang Chong (王翀), Made in China 2.0 isn’t so much traditional theatre as it is a work of performance art charged with the immediacy and impact of a kind of high-stakes confessional.

Initially staged in 2016 and revisited in 2020 just before the world shifted under COVID-19, the show has evolved, losing none of its edge but perhaps gaining new layers of poignancy.

Known for his radical reimagining’s of Western classics like Waiting for Godot, Ghosts 2.0 and Central Park West, Chong, along with co-director Emma Valente, utilises Australia’s freedoms to push his work to new levels. Here, he draws on his experimental theatre background to excavate his own experiences, touching on historical and contemporary politics and the intricacies of creating art in Beijing.

Wang Chong in Made in China 2.0. Photo © Tamarah Scott

Like all good art, this solo production forces you to re-examine your assumptions and confront some revealing truths. Chong brings his own brand of performance –not quite as endurance-focused as Tehching Hsieh or as openly provocative as Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece, but with a unique theatricality that’s all his...