Ghosts 2.0 offers two perspectives on drama

In April, Wang unveiled Ghosts 2.0 at the Asia Theater Directors Festival in Seoul, working with Korean performers. Unlike the version in Tokyo, the Korean version is like a black-and-white silent film. Audiences can see the performers onstage via a big projection screen and read the subtitles.

The play still has meaning although it was created in the 19th century.

The version being staged in Tokyo was performed in Beijing in September.

In that version, Wang had localized the play to make it more understandable and empathetic for a Chinese audience. The story happens in today's China and all characters have Chinese names. Pastor Manders becomes Secretary Man in the Chinese version because both positions represent the spiritual and political leadership in the local communities.

The original work delved into humanity and morality, and it discussed syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, and its tragic impact on families. Wang replaced syphilis with AIDS because syphilis is not incurable today but AIDS is fatal.

"I want to bring the master and his classic work back to life in China. It's like a contact between Chinese and Norwegian contexts. It's still very illuminating and touching when it becomes a Chinese story," Wang says.

The climax comes when an adult male runs onstage with a giant stuffed bear toy in his arms, and he starts pulling colorful female underpants out of the bear and throws them everywhere. He cries and shouts repeatedly: "Mom, I am ill, but I don't know what kind of disease it is!" He never mentions the word but the audience knows it's AIDS from all the hints.

Throwing away underpants signifies that he was confessing his sexual history to his mother. In the end, the bear withers when its fillings are all gone, reflecting that the son is in poor health as well.

"The son is pitiful and your heart will ache for him. Unlike Hamlet, who is fighting with enemies, the son is always struggling with himself," says Li Jialong, who played the son in both Beijing and Tokyo productions.

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