Arrest of Ai WeiWei - Hampstead Theatre

We checked out another play at our local theatre, Arrest of Ai WeiWei.  The last play we saw here was Judas Kiss, which was awesome, so my hopes were high.  You can get all the info you need for the play from wikipedia, but basically Ai WeiWei is a famous Chinese artist, he helped design the birds nest stadium for the Olympics, did the sunflower seeds exhibit at the Tate Modern, that sort of thing.  It seems as if there has been a bit of a falling out between Ai WeiWei and the Chinese government since then, probably because he started investigations into the Sichuan earthquakes that killed all those kids.  So the government had him arrested and locked up for 81 days when he was trying to fly to Hong Kong.  The script is based on a book, which was written from conversations a journalist had with him after his release.  It feels like it is being pretty truthful, though at some points you feel like he's obviously putting himself in the best light.

If it is actually truthful, it must have been a completely surreal experience.  He is eventually charged , and convicted, of tax evasion.  But they begin by having him interviewed by homicide detectives who have no idea who he is, before he;s transferred to an army base, where two soldiers are apparently in his cell at all times, monitoring him constantly, even when he goes to the toilet.  And throughout it all, he convinced he's going to be beaten, or 'disappeared'.  Before suddenly they charge him with the tax offences, and he's let loose.

The actor playing him does a good job, but it always feels like it's trying really hard to be not just a play, but an art installation piece.  Most of the action takes place in a shipping container in the middle of the stage.  But the entire cast is on stage at all times (even when they aren't part of the scene), and most of them have no role to play at all.  They just sit there, with really good hair, occasionally helping to change the set, filming things on their phones, or taking pictures.  And those people were all white.  So you're thinking, what are they trying to say here, is it the fact that the Western world all wants a piece of him now that he;s famous, and yet we view his suffering as entertainment?  Or was it just a big theatre company putting on the show, and everyone wanted to put this play on their CV.  Then at the end it finishes with a big monologue about what is art.  And then you have to applaud all the people with good hair, who did nothing all evening.