Shanghai Dolls

The true story of a cultural martyr and a cultural oppressor.

When two penniless actresses meet in Shanghai at auditions for Ibsen’s?A Doll’s House, they quickly become inseparable. But as political upheaval rips through China, their tumultuous friendship will alter not only the course of their lives, but the course of history. One will become China’s first female director. The other, the architect of the Cultural Revolution.

Amy Ng’s newest play looks at the untold story of two of the most influential women in Chinese history – Madame Mao and Sun Weishi – and how the personal truly is political.

Amy Ng is a British-Hong Kong playwright. Her plays include Under the Umbrella (Belgrade Theatre Coventry, UK Tour), Acceptance (Hampstead Theatre) and Shangri-La (Finborough Theatre). Radio plays include Tiger Girls (BBC Radio 4) and Kilburn Passion (BBC Radio 3). Adaptations include Miss Julie (Chester Storyhouse and UK tour 2020, 2021; Singapore Repertory Theatre 2022, and a bilingual version for the Hong Kong International Arts Festival, 2024). Amy trained as a historian and is the author of ‘Nationalism and Political Liberty’ (Oxford University Press). She is fluent in English, German and Chinese and regularly translates Chinese plays into English.