Adapted by Blind Summit

From the book Mr China's Son by He Liyi 

​

"This is a very true story, a story that came from my true life and from my heart."

- He Liyi

Mr China's Son was based on the life story of He Liyi, a Chinese English teacher who lived through the Cultural Revolution in Kunming, and who now runs a cafe for backpackers in Dali. He wrote his extraordinary story in a book in English. It gives a unique insight into the experience of millions in the countryside in Mao's China.

He Liyi's dreams of becoming an English teacher and marrying his student girlfriend are dashed when politics tears his life apart. Condemned as a "rightist" and a "lover of America" because he has learned English, he is forced to abandon his studies and return to the life of a peasant farmer. Survival becomes his only priority. Starvation, political bullying, then imprisonment and hard labour in salt mines follow as thousands and millions of people starve in the Great Leap forward. He Liyi makes a practical marriage, hides his books and ekes out a living for a few years by a variety of desperate means whcih include collecting the village shit and selling it, illegally, for manure.

​

After the revolution He Liyi sets up the Cultural Exchange Cafe in Dali where Nick Barnes met him in 1995 and was inspired to tell his story with puppets. Blind Summit was formed to make the show.

​

A story of rice and revolution.

​

​

"All the best puppet shows tell stories in a way that couldn't be matched by live actors: not many, however, achieve the synthesis of narrative and form found in 'Mr China's Son'."  

Timeout

​

"After this show, bad acting should never be called wooden."  

Reviewsgate.com

​

"thrillingly unconventional…" 

Timeout

​

"I loved it." - What's On

​

​