Thunderstorm by Cao Yu

A titan of Chinese theatre will take the Festival by storm 

Best known for his first play Thunderstorm, Cao Yu (1910-96) is widely regarded as the Thunderstorm by Cao Yu founding father of modern Chinese drama. Often compared to Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov and Eugene O'Neill, Cao Yu achieved his canonical status in China due to his powerful portrayal of people and exploration of human complexity, and his works continue to touch the hearts of 21st-century audiences.  

Thunderstorm is set in the home of an industrialist in northern China, where a family has gathered with all the inexorable fatality of a Greek drama. It’s a play full of tension, where the illusion of love and power intertwines with the destiny of a woman yearning for freedom in a patriarchal family. Over the 24 hours in which the action takes place, these tensions mount as the inevitable fate swiftly approaches. 

One of the most popular dramatic works of the past century, Thunderstorm has been adapted into film, dance and opera, including film director Zhang Yimou’s Oscar-nominated film Curse of the Golden Flower.  

Come and discover this titan of Chinese theatre in the 2025 HKAF commission of Thunderstorm, directed by veteran Beijing director Li Liuyi and featuring a stellar cast of celebrated Chinese actors, with set and costume design by award-winning Hong Kong art director William Chang.

Commissioned by the Hong Kong Arts Festival