A timely play based on the true story of a Nobel Laureate. On 3 April 2011, as he was boarding a flight to Taipei, the Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Airport. Advised merely that his travel "could damage state security", he was escorted to a van by officials after which he disappeared for 81 days. On his release, the government claimed that his imprisonment related to tax evasion. Howard Brenton's play is based on recent conversations with Ai in which he told the story of that imprisonment - by turns surreal, hilarious, and terrifying. A portrait of the Artist in extreme conditions, it is also an affirmation of the centrality of Art and of freedom of speech in civilised society.
- ISBN10 1322390304
- ISBN13 9781322390307
- Publish Date 1 January 2013
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 4 March 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Nick Hern Books
- Format eBook
- Language English