Shangri-La
'I refuse to be a panda. I refuse to go extinct. I want to live, to live well, to live like them.'
Bunny, a young woman from the officially designated 'Shangri-La' in the Himalayan foothills of China's Yunnan Province, has witnessed her family's livelihood destroyed by mass tourism. She dreams of escape as a globe-trotting photographer.
But what happens when the only thing you have to sell is your culture? When the only way to free yourself is to betray your roots?
In Shangri-La, her first full-length play, Amy Ng lays bare the contradictions and private pain of cultural tourism. The play premiered at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2016.
Amy Ng is a writer whose plays include Shangri-La (Finborough Theatre, London, 2016); Shoes (Soho Theatre); Special Occasions (St. James Theatre and Arcola Theatre) and A Little Night Music (Bread and Roses Theatre and The Space).
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).