Two Directors Sitting Still
A Documentary Performance

Theatre directors Wang Chong and Kai Tuchmann are collaborating on Two Directors Sitting Still, a documentary theatre piece inspired by Hu Bo’s acclaimed feature film An Elephant Sitting Still. Hu Bo died by suicide in 2017 at the age of 29. His film follows four characters on a journey to see a circus elephant that remains motionless despite all external distractions — a quiet metaphor for resilience, solitude, and inner struggle. The film earned posthumous recognition at the Berlinale and the Golden Horse Film Festival. In their production, Wang — a director from China working in Germany — and Tuchmann — a director from Germany working in China — take Hu Bo’s life and film as a starting point. Through a dialogue about their experiences of making theatre across both countries, the piece becomes at once a tribute to Hu Bo and a reflection on how artists portray one another with sensitivity, while confronting the societal consequences of their work and the fears these can provoke.