Shanghai Dolls

When two penniless actresses meet in Shanghai at auditions for Ibsen's?A Doll's House, they quickly become inseparable. But 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 director. The other, the architect of the Cultural Revolution.

Amy Ng's new play Shanghai Dolls looks at the untold story of two of the most influential women in Chinese history - Madame Mao and Sun Weishi - and how the personal truly is political.

It is premiered at Kiln Theatre, London, in 2025 in a co-production with Paines Plough.