Peng Hao Theater: One Man’s Vision to Reinvent Beijing’s Dramatic Arts Landscape

By staff reporter HU YUE

THOUGH its been many years since Wang Xiang first saw Copenhagen， hes still visibly excited talking about the stage play.

Copenhagen， by playwright Michael Frayn， presents a supernatural meeting between the spirits of two physicists， Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. Together with Bohrs wife， Margrethe， the physicists debate the answer to a seemingly simple question posed in the first line of the play.

Wang Xiang should know the answer by now –hes seen Copenhagen over 40 times. His passion for the play also comes from sharing it with others. Hes attended performances with over 60 friends， all of whom， he says， have come away with favorable impressions.

Copenhagen was the start of Wangs love affair with the theater. He delved into drama， studied classics and waxed lyrically to his friends about the beauty of the performance art. So inspired was Wang that he decided to build his very own folk studio theater in Beijing in 2007. Wangs Peng Hao Theater is now a staple performance venue on the local theater scene.

Measuring 300 square meters， and with less than 100 seats， Peng Hao Theater is no Royal Albert Hall. But thats not important for Wang – for him， its a place for reflection and immersion in his passion. Among actors and playwrights in Beijing， Peng Hao has earned a reputation as not just a great， intimate venue， but also a bastion of local theater culture.

These days Peng Hao Theater plays host to topflight domestic and international productions. Indeed， when I first sat down with Wang in the theater café， he was just finishing up a cup of coffee with Phillippe Bizot， a leading French mime artist. The two have known each other for over two years. They met in 2010 at the Avignon Theatrical Festival and quickly became good friends， despite the language barrier. These days， Bizot refers to Wang as his “Chinese brother.”

A Second Career

Given the amount of energy Wang puts into the Peng Hao Theater， its hard to believe that he has another full-time occupation – Mr. Wang is a dentist. The private dental clinic he established in the 1990s is the oldest of its kind in Beijing.

Wang was enrolled in a military medical university in 1977. That year， Chinese college entrance examinations had recommenced after being suspended during the “cultural revolution” （1966-1976）. Wang had served as a soldier at the time， and won a place to study alongside cadres， workers， farmers， educated youth who had spent time in the countryside， and other former soldiers. The focus of the country was still on collectivization and topdown planning； students would be sent to the colleges and universities picked out for them.

Wang graduated in the early 1980s and took a post at the Navy General Hospital. He worked there for a decade， during which time he also became one of Chinas earliest postgraduate degree holding dentists. He specialized in dental implants.

By the 1990s China was opening-up quick， and men and women with dreams of wealth were “entering the ocean” – the Chinese analogy for taking to private enterprise. Wang was an early private sector trailblazer. Borrowing RMB 700，000 from friends， he quit his secure job at the Navy General Hospital and founded a private dental clinic. The going wasnt easy – credit， for instance， was extremely expensive， and RMB 300，000 came with an annual interest rate of 30 percent. Many at the time considered him crazy. Although he is a dentist， he also took to appearing on local Beijing radio， where he would host talkback sessions focusing on psychological health.

Being an early player in the market earned Wang hefty financial rewards. As was popular back then， he emigrated abroad， to Canada. But his love of China brought him back to Beijing.

“At the time I chose to emigrate to Canada because I saw the benefits of living in a highly developed country. China was just getting going on its upward growth trajectory. But I realized my mistake soon after arriving in Canada： China was my home， and Id always lose more – culturally speaking– moving away than Id gain economically，” Wang said.

Wang moved back to Beijing and was determined to make contributions to the cultural life of the city. His dental clinic developed well， providing funds for his cultural career.

From Theater Buff to Theater Owner

Wang Xiang became a theater buff， pure and simple， but he wished he were more： “If I had the choice again， I would have gone straight to running a theater rather than being a dentist.”

Love of theater runs in Wangs family. His mother was an ardent theater and literature fan， and had long encouraged Wang to read classic works. In his teens Wang began reading. Among the first novels he picked up were Romain Rollands Jean Christophe and Guo Moruos Peacocks Gallbladder.

His pivot to theatrical drama was slow. It started in 1985 when he watched a play called Bian Hes Jade by Zhang Xiaofeng， recommended by the then minister of culture in a newspaper opinion piece. He fell in love with the play， and eventually with the whole genre of performing arts.

By the turn of the new millennium， Wang had saved up a bit of money and decided to take his passion for the theater further. In 2002， to help his friends find a rehearsal venue， he tore down the walls of his own home. In 2004 he invested RMB 100，000 in a production called Temporary Residence Permit. It had a run at the Beijing Peoples Art Theater， though Wang ended up losing RMB 20，000.

The experience led Wang to open his own theater. In 2007 Peng Hao Theater， located in a courtyard complex next to the Central Academy of Drama， opened its doors. Construction and rental contracts cost him RMB 1.2 million.

“I invested all the money Id earned from the dental clinic in Peng Hao. The theater still runs in the red， but I dont regret anything. The return Ive got is emotional experience， and its been well worth the cost，” Wang said.

Peng Hao is a busy theater. In five years， it has seen 150 plays produced for a total of over 1，300 showings. Peng Hao Theater Company itself has independently produced over 20 plays. Of the theater， Wang says， “Peng Hao is more than just a performance venue. Of course we provide a performance space， but really my focus is not on producing. The dramatic arts are already recognized as an influential art form in Beijing； providing performance space ensures this recognition continues. But now we need to use the power of the theater to draw attention to the issues. The plays that we produce emphasize humanism alongside aesthetics， for instance.”

Peng Hao is now a staple of the Beijing theater scene. It participates in five theatrical festivals， including the Nanluoguxiang Theatrical Festival.

The annual Nanluoguxiang Theatrical Festival started four years ago， but already its size and popularity is rivaling big international events.

Wang took preparations for his productions at the Nanluoguxiang Theatrical Festival very seriously. So seriously， in fact， that Wang had a heart attack. He recovered， with the help of surgery， and was back on his feet in no time.

“Its funny； people usually suffer heart attacks due to some great outside pressure in their personal or professional lives. In my case， however， it was all pressure I put on myself. Running a dental clinic and a theater was my own choice， and its not easy，”he admits.

Artistic Advocacy

Wang doesnt seem to take his recent heart scare very seriously at all – he hasnt slowed down a bit. He told me hes nearly 60 years old， though thats hard to believe， such is his youthful vitality. He admits hes got the energy of a “young critic，” which he says comes from his “sense of responsibility in promoting culture as a force to improve the lives of Beijings residents.”

Wang treasures every play produced by Peng Hao Theater – he can name all of them without hesitation. He personally selected each one to ensure their promotion of dramatic heritage. An overarching theme of the plays， he says， is that of good over evil – a classic theme， if there ever was one.

Besides producing， Wang has also fashioned himself into a vocal lobbyist for the promotion of the dramatic arts by the government. Hes submitted many proposals on improving Beijings cultural environment to agencies such as the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee， the Ministry of Culture and the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee.

Some proposals aim to directly change the cultural status quo. “Weve seen results： for a non-governmental organization to be pressing for change –and succeeding – is already a milestone，” he says.

Wang even broaches on a bit of economic theory.“There are four main occupational groups in any society，” he says. “First are commoners who crave for a better and beautiful life. Second are technical workers， such as dentists， who are in general providing a better life for human beings. Third are administrators who manage public interests， and fourth， artists， who have a great deal of responsibility in promoting the spiritual development of the whole population. I like to think of myself as making a difference in the last group.”

In his opinion， theatrical art is one of the highest forms of artistic endeavor through which man learns about the world and himself. Many people， he says， would give up a lot to ensure the continuation of theatrical art. For sure， hes one of them.