Li Jianjun is a Beijing-based independent theatre director and the artistic director of New Youth Group. Recognised as one of the key directors and practitioners of Chinese avant-garde theatre, Li creates innovative productions that reconsider theatre as an artistic medium. In recent years, his works have received extensive attention due to their critical cultural stand and unique exploration of the aesthetics of theatre.

Major works include: A Man Who Flies Up To the Sky (Wuzhen Theatre Festival,China, 2015; VIE Festival,Italy, 2016; Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, Germany, 2017); 25.3km Fairy Tale, a documentary theatre production performed on a bus (China, 2013-2014); the documentary theatre production One Fine Day (Beijing 2013, Hangzhou 2013 and 2017, Shanghai 2016, Shenzhen 2018); Metaphor of the Shadow (2012) and A Madman’s Diary (2011), theatrical adaptations of works by Lu Xun; Betrayal, by Harold Pinter (2010); Nostalgic Stockholm Syndrome, a full-length original work (2010); Miss Extraordinary, a staged reading for “New Dramatic Art in China / Germany” programme at Goethe- Institute China (Beijing, 2009); The Sacrifice, a dancetheatre performance (2008); Plundering II (2008), a dance-theatre performance for “the Japanese Young Choreographers’ Project”; Plundering I (2007), a dancetheatre piece for “the Young Choreographers’ Project” and the Caochangdi May Festival.