Li Deli’s Journey to The West 西去李德立

Performance 40 min 2025

4 scenes, solo cross-gender role, Languages: English and Chinese,
with short passages in German and Sanskrit

Li Deli’s Journey to the West is a speculative monologue-performance about the life and afterlife of missionary Edward Selby Little – known in China as Li Deli (李德立), founder of the colonial resort Kuling. After his death, he does not enter Christian paradise, but arrives in the Chinese underworld, where he must defend what he did in Kuling in front of King Yanwang.

Performed by an Asian female performer in the male role of Li Deli, the work explores cultural misunderstanding, colonial mindsets and the violence of language