Absolute Signal
 Gao Xingjian and Lin Zhaohua are two directors bent on dramatic experiment.
The main purpose of their experimenting with little
theater drama is to strengthen theater's contact with the audience by using
the advantages of modern drama.
The story of Absolute Signal takes place in the last passenger compartment of
a train. It depicts a depressed and perplexed young man whom trips and then
turns over a new leaf by deciding to part with the train bandits. The play's
success lies, of course, in addressing a common question faced by any youth
growing up in a new environment. But what appeals more to the audience is the
play's unique form of expression and its exploration and presentation of the
character's inner world.
First, the play stresses the contact between the actors and the audience and
shortens the distance in between the two by being performed in a little theater.
Second, it places the character in a stage scene, with frequent switches
between reality, dream, and memory, thus guiding the audience to feel the bottom
of the character's soul. The play externalizes the character's moods, feelings,
and psychology.
The success of Absolute Signal stimulated the dramatists' desire to explore
little theater.
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