Between Representation and Reality: Zhao Chuan’s World Factory as Social Theatre.

Zhao Chuan’s play <italic>World Factory</italic> continuously introduces reality into the theatre by resorting to the creative techniques of documentary theatre, epic theatre, and theatre of the oppressed in left-wing theatre, thus constituting a blurred boundary between the reality and the representation, and also forming a mode of discussion of social issues in theatre. The tension between reality and representation allows Zhao Chuan’s theatrical production to be understood not only as aesthetic theatre but also as social theatre. With the help of sociological methods, Zhao Chuan’s social theatre creates a “theatrical public sphere,” and the reality of this sphere constitutes a Habermasian place of prudent and equal public opinion. At the same time, the representation of the theatrical public sphere creates the emotional space of physical presence. It imaginatively constructs another reality, and its representation quality can avoid the direct criticism of the reality, which makes the relatively free public sphere speech possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]