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A pacy two-hander that provides a window into a terrifying period of Chinese history.
—London Theatre
Two penniless actresses meet at auditions for a production of Ibsen's A Doll's House in Shanghai—and they quickly become inseparable.
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 theatre director. The other, the architect of the Cultural Revolution.
Amy Ng's Shanghai Dolls tells the untold true story of two of the most influential women in Chinese history—Madame Mao and Sun Weishi—and how the personal truly is political.
An astonishing true story…undeniably impressive.
—Evening Standard
Fascinating and fast-moving…It's wrenching. All the more because the fleet 80-minute journey of the play telescopes three decades, and makes you remain aware of the light-spirited comradeship of their early meeting.
—TheatreCat
Dramatic and well-conceived…incredibly gripping and moving.
—Theatre and Tonic
Poses disturbing questions about heroes and villains in times of violent political turmoil.
—LondonTheatre1
Amy Ng is a writer whose plays include: Shanghai Dolls (Paines Plough and Kiln Theatre, London, 2025); Shangri-La (Finborough Theatre, London, 2016); Shoes (Soho Theatre); and Special Occasions (St. James Theatre and Arcola Theatre). She is also a historian with a research interest in multinational empires, imperial decline, and nationality conflict, and is the author of Nationalism and Political Liberty (Oxford University Press).