This week’s guest is the award-winning Chinese playwright Nick Yu, 喻荣军, who juggles his work as a writer alongside his role as Creative Director of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. In our conversation, we cover Nick’s two contrasting identities: the sophisticated denizen of the Shanghai arts scene, and the son of a village teacher from the heart of the Chinese countryside. 
 
Nick is no stranger to controversy, and is famous in the Chinese theatre scene for pushing the limits of what can be put on the stage. So we also discuss his creative process, and the way in which he nurtures his imagination without overstepping the boundaries of the China cultural policy. So this episode should be a must-listen for any creators or artists in china who are struggling with temptation of self-censorship.

Nick Yu’s object: His first collection of plays. 

Nick Yu’s favourite WeChat sticker: The happy village boy.
(Add @oscar10877 on WeChat to join the Group and see the original sticker)

Nick Yu’s favourite China fact: Traditional village management. To illustrate this, here are some photos from the nearest town to his village, which is 运漕 (Yùncáo) in 含山 (Hánshān) county, 安徽 (Ānhuī) province.

If Nick Yu left China, he would miss.... Anhui cuisine. For example, 黄山臭桂鱼 - Yellow Mountains stinky mandarin fish.

Nick Yu’s favourite place to hang out: The Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre on Anfu Lu.

The music score for 大实话 (Dà shíhuà), Nick Yu’s favourite song to sing at Karaoke. 

Nick Yu’s selfie with Oscar.

Nick Yu: “Walter Defends Sarajevo”, the film that was very popular in China, and that Nick got in trouble for when he adapted it for the stage. One is the Chinese poster, the other is the original poster from Yugoslavia. 

Nick Yu: A graph from the World Economic Forum which shows the rate of rural depopulation in China versus the other G20 countries.