Tim Luscombe
Hungry Ghosts
Location: Orange Tree Theatre, London
Date: 2010
After condemning China's crackdown on June 4, 1989, the EU cut ties and imposed sanctions and embargoes. In 2004, it reversed the decision and trade resumed at full throttle. I wrote Hungry Ghosts as a reaction to the EU’s 2004 decision, questioning the wisdom of partnering with a communist military dictatorship with a dodgy human rights record. China imprisons more journalists per year than any other country, and yet we now depend on it to service our debt, so our ability to criticise it is curtailed. I set the play in the F1 arena in Shanghai where the clash between capitalism and communism is horribly vivid.
[Tim] Luscombe, the director, gives clarity to the complexity.
Timothy Ramsden
Mr Luscombe directs the show with aggressive precision, and fast pace, interspersing the relentless tension with moments of razor sharp humour.
Katherine Gregor, remotegoat
The author’s own production has a hectic vitality.
Michael Billington, The Guardian