Grass Stage as a Method: (Un)Doing Cultural Studies in China

Abstract The article argues that the practice of the grassroots theatre group Grass Stage provides an inspiring method for (un)doing Cultural Studies in China, in view of the challenges brought by the institutionalisation of mainland Chinese Cultural Studies and its theoretical impasse. This method, we argue, includes four key aspects: firstly, it positions itself from the margins, developing a critical relation with the centre; secondly, it transforms the urban space dominated by the state and the market into public and political space; thirdly, it uses the body as a point to connect the individual and society; lastly, it places the audience at the centre of the social construction of meaning through post-performance dialogue. The method proposed is a metaphor, in S. Hall’s terms, for developing possible counter-hegemonic elements, which open up the horizons of the possible. It offers a way to dislocate culture through reflections on the powers currently operating in Chinese society.