An avant-garde dramatic arts production is redefining the meaning of 鈥渞oadshow.鈥�

It鈥檚 called 鈥淩emote Shanghai,鈥� and if you鈥檙e game, put on a pair of headphones and join a group venturing into the theater of the streets, with a machine voice directing your itinerary and actions.

It鈥檚 hard to define this latest outing by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center. It鈥檚 being described as an 鈥渙utdoor cruising theater production.鈥�

鈥淩emote Shanghai鈥� is the local version of an international phenomenon staged in cities around the world, from Moscow and Milan to New York and Bangalore. In every city, the 鈥淩emote X鈥� series tailors one or several routes for the city.

鈥淚 was amazed when I experienced 鈥楻emote Taipei鈥� in 2017, and I decided to bring it to Shanghai,鈥� said Liu Lei, producer of 鈥淩emote Shanghai.鈥�

Participants don headphones at the beginning of 鈥淩emote Shanghai.鈥� Under the playful guidance of a computer-generated voice, this group of strangers forms a loose league, called the 鈥渉orde鈥� by the voice, and explores the city from the perspective of artificial intelligence.

The synthetic voice in the headphones serves as GPS and also directs movements of the 鈥渉orde.鈥� Participants might walk through a cemetery, visit a temple, take the subway, or go into a hospital. The destination of the two-hour journey is a climb to a five-story platform.

The voice requires the 鈥渉orde鈥� to make a joint decision on direction in front of a three-way junction, it soliloquizes, and sometimes it gives strange or even awkward orders, like 鈥渟tretch and dance to music鈥� when the group is on a Metro train鈥� or 鈥減ick one object from your bag that showcases your personality and hold it high鈥� when participants are walking on a busy street.

The voice requires participants to consider a public square in downtown Xujiahui as a stage, with passers-by as performers. However, in the eyes of the passers-by, the remotely controlled 鈥渉orde鈥� looks like a group of street artists.

鈥淭his is a project that encourages participants to think from the angle of an observer about the relationship between the individual and a group, the transient nature of human life and the eternity of civilization and culture,鈥� said Liu. 鈥淚n a modernized civilization, who do we follow when we are guided by algorithms?鈥�

Liu said he likes the project鈥檚 aim of making participants think instead of just entertaining them like most traditional theater productions do.

鈥淚t鈥檚 in line with my interpretation of post-modern theater 鈥� drama continues when one walks out of the theater,鈥� Liu explained. 鈥淧articipants are guided out of their daily routines to do some independent and serious thinking, which those living in a busy city like Shanghai rarely do. We live in a glittering city where a lot of us work like animals due to heavy pressure. To me, this is a very dramatic contradiction.鈥�

The original creators of 鈥淩emote X鈥� are a team of author-directors from Germany, who call themselves Rimini Protokoll.

The team is known for creating new forms of theater and tapping performers who are not professional actors but, rather, experts or specialists in particular circles in life. Therefore, audiences are presented with 鈥渦nperfect but real鈥� performances instead of those that are 鈥減erfect but fake.鈥�

Rimini Protokoll artists were invited to Shanghai last year to design the route for 鈥淩emote Shanghai.鈥�

According to Liu, a cemetery, a historical or religious location, and a high platform are three requisite elements when Rimini Protokoll designs a route for a city.

鈥淧ublic cemeteries are easily found in Western countries, but not in China,鈥� Liu said. 鈥淲e are lucky to have the Longhua Martyrs鈥� Cemetery in Shanghai. It鈥檚 a far-fetched choice, but it has a temple near it and its downtown location saved us a lot of trouble when designing the rest of the route.鈥�

The most challenging part of creating 鈥淩emote Shanghai,鈥� he said, was obtaining permission from all management and security departments along the route.

鈥淕enerally speaking, China is yet open enough to the form of outdoor theater,鈥� said Liu. 鈥淭o my surprise, the managers of the Longhua Temple were the most supportive and open-minded ones. They allowed us to go through the temple as long as we didn鈥檛 disturb the monks and pilgrims. We showed previous 鈥楻emote X鈥� series videos to the Longhua Martyrs鈥� Cemetery managers before they gave their permission.鈥�

He added: 鈥淥n the other hand, our previous design of making the horde dance on the ground floor of a department store in Xujiahui was rejected by the store鈥檚 manager. The original destination we wanted to set on the roof of an office building, where participants could get a bird鈥檚-eye view of the whole route. That was turned down by the public security department.鈥�

In the final version, the horde danced to music from the headphones at a public square in front of a department store. The destination of the journey was set at an outdoor platform behind the backstage of Theater Above, which is located on the fifth floor of Xujiahui鈥檚 Metro City shopping mall.

Liu said the process of acquiring all the required permissions from various departments took about four months. Rimini Protokoll artists spent three weeks in Shanghai to work on the script and sound recording for 鈥淩emote Shanghai.鈥�

So, what do people who took part in this experimental theater experience think of it all?

鈥淚 like the form of the program though I鈥檓 not sure I fully acquired the messages it intends to pass on,鈥� participant Gu Ying told Shanghai Daily. 鈥淭o me, it鈥檚 an interesting and daring experience to do something brave and awkward in public. Knowing that some people are accompanying you and doing the same things filled me with courage.鈥�

She continued: 鈥淲e are strangers, but at the same time we are supporters of each other on a temporary team. This reminds me of relationships among people in a metropolis like Shanghai. We tend to appear indifferent about other people鈥檚 lives. But this is also a kind of freedom one can acquire in a modern city, and you feel secure being part of it.鈥�

Another participant Qin Chao said he would like to have had more interactions with other horde members or even with strangers on the street.

鈥淚 was ready to 鈥榮uit myself in strangers鈥� gazes鈥� when we were given awkward orders in public,鈥� Qin said. 鈥淭here could have been more brave designs or even assignments that could be accomplished only with the help of passers-by.鈥�

鈥淩emote Shanghai鈥� has an English version for foreign participants. A French tourist, who preferred to be identified only as PJ, told Shanghai Daily that he enjoyed the experience as the tour led him to sites and corners of the city that he wanted to see as a tourist.

David Amar, who has worked for a foreign-invested company in Shanghai for three years, bought a ticket to 鈥淩emote Shanghai鈥� at a friend鈥檚 recommendation. He said he thought the organizational form of 鈥淩emote Shanghai鈥� overshadowed its content. Amar said he prefers site-specific innovative theater, like 鈥淪leep No More.鈥�

鈥淵es, we are inside the experience, but it is completely different experience compared with 鈥楽leep No More,鈥欌�� said Amar. 鈥淚 can understand that in China we discuss a lot about the relationship between artificial intelligence and humanity. It鈥檚 philosophical.鈥�

He said his favorite part of the journey occurred when the horde was walking in a long passage in the subway. The voice in the headphones required participants who wanted more individual freedom from society to walk along the right-hand side of the passage, and those who preferred discipline and regulation to walk along the left side.

鈥淚 would like to have had more interactions like that,鈥� Amar said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good we were made to think about the scenes we mindlessly walk past every day. But I was kind of expecting more storytelling, or maybe us being asked to do something more.鈥�

A 鈥淩emote Shanghai鈥� horde can be up to 50 people. In each group, four theater staff members serve as 鈥渟hepherds.鈥� But only one of them identifies himself at the beginning of the journey in case any participant needs help. The other shepherds pretend to be participants, with one controlling the pace of the voice orders. The shepherds ensure that no participant is left behind. Sometimes, they might step forth as 鈥渂raver members鈥� to encourage other members to follow awkward orders.

鈥淓ach journey can be very different, depending on the personalities of the participants,鈥� said shepherd Zhang Dingchen. 鈥淪ome appear in an excited mood throughout the journey and dance on the street as if they were in a night club. More introverted participants tend to resist instructions, especially the awkward ones.鈥�

Zhang said the uniqueness of each journey is the major charm of the production.鈥淚t鈥檚 meaningful in a sense that it promotes new forms of theater and illustrates the exploration of the relationship between performers and audience in a vivid way,鈥� he said.

According to producer Liu, 鈥淩emote Shanghai鈥� managed to break even 鈥� just 鈥� because of support from cultural foundations.

鈥淭his is not a commercial project, and we knew it would not make money,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s a state-owned company, the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center regards it a responsibility to present audiences with varied forms of theater work.鈥�

鈥淩emote Shanghai鈥� will run through November 30, Thursdays through Sundays. It starts at 2pm at the Longhua Martyrs鈥� Memorial Hall.

Tickets are 150 yuan (US$21) per person on Thursdays and Fridays, and 180 yuan on Saturdays and Sundays. The English version, available on Sunday, is priced at 200 yuan per person.