The True Story of Ah Q (after Christoph Hein’s original script)

A sardonic encounter with Chinese literature’s iconic anti-hero

The True Story of Ah Q (1921–22) is widely regarded as a defining work of modern Chinese literature. Through Ah Q, one of literature's most unforgettable anti-heroes, author Lu Xun cut deep into the absurdities of self-preservation and human denial, exposing the ignorance, cynicism and opportunism that surfaced in the wake of China's revolutionary transformation.

Near the end of the Cold War, German writer Christoph Hein re-invented this Chinese classic for the stage. Laced with tragic humour and sharp irony, Hein’s adaptation reveals Ah Q as a figure that transcends borders and generations: forever escaping reality, forever finding solace in illusion, and forever edging towards a fate he cannot foresee. Suspended in time, Ah Q belongs to no single society, culture or age. Ah Q could be any one of us.

Hein's version of Ah Q has been praised for its accurate portrayal of post-Cold War disillusion, and was widely staged in Germany, France and other European countries in the 1980s.

Following last year’s acclaimed The Drunkard, the HKAF presents another bold cross-cultural production in Cantonese. Co-produced with Theatre Vorpommern from Germany, this new 2027 production of Hein's Ah Q will receive an updated treatment and adaption by the German dramaturge and playwright Joris Loschburg. Directed by renowned innovative Tian Gebing, whose collaborations with German theatre artists span more than two decades, this new staging brings together a stellar local cast of local actors and creative voices from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and Germany, and invites us to encounter Ah Q once again in our own time.

Advance Bookings will start at 10am on 7 October 2026