Lately there’s been more drama than usual on the theater scene in Shanghai. Zuloo Productions was at the center of a censorship saga when their performance of David Henry Hwang’s 1988 play M. Butterfly was closed down by the local government.

Hwang’s award winning play is based on Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly, and tells the story of a French diplomat who falls in love with a Beijing opera star, Song Liling. However, since Liling is a man in disguise, their love is doomed. In Zuloo’s version, the part of Liling was played by Shanghai drag queen jazz star Coco Zhao.

With subject matter involving a forbidden love like this, M. Butterfly was a brave choice for Zuloo. But the pioneering drama group (set up in 2001 by impresario Zsuzsi Lindsay in Scotland) has never shied away from controversy. Their production of Moises Kaufmani’s Laramie Project in June this year at Barefoot Portrait Studio was part of Shanghai Pride, and was closed down part way through, apparently because of “licensing issues”. Luckily, Zuloo managed to relocate it at the last minute to the River Arts Center for the final two performances, but a grim cloud hung over proceedings. As with other Pride events that were cancelled or closed down, the Laramie affair was witness to the fact that, just maybe, Shanghai ain’t so progressive as we all thought.

The question is, why were both shows allowed to run for a couple of nights before being closed down? Did the powers that be want to make a gesture towards freedom of speech, but snatch it away at the last minute to remind us who’s boss? Or was it just a case of their not finding out about the shows until two days in? It’s hard to say.

Every expat knows about censorship here in China; many come up against it in their daily lives and jobs, but few actually try to push the boundaries. That’s why it’s great that Zuloo continue to stage plays like Laramie and M. Butterfly. No-one ever effected change by keeping schtum, after all.