Lust, nose job - Local stage company EWT brings us the seductive underbelly of America’s Midwest

The things we do for love. That’s the central theme of Neil LaBute’s 2001 play The Shape of Things, being put on this month by local stage company East West Theater. Set in a small Midwest town, the play chronicles the bed-hopping lives of four American college students, principally Evelyn, a sexy, aggressive artist, and Adam, an insecure undergraduate. The two become embroiled in an intense affair that before long ventures into dangerous, seductive territory.

The Shanghai Opera House presents their version of Thunderstorm

Thanks to Curse of the Golden Flower, people around the world have now become familiar (whether they know it or not) with the story of Thunderstorm. This month, Shanghai will have an opportunity to see the play in a different form, thanks to the Shanghai Opera House.

Written in 1933 by Nanjing-based dramatist Cao Yu, the play is considered a masterpiece of modern Chinese theater, depicting the downfall of a corrupted household. It gained huge popularity after several stagings prior to the Japanese invasion in 1937 (including a notable early performance in Shanghai) and continues to be reprised around the country by numerous theater groups today. It’s been adapted to numerous formats as well, including film (beginning with a Shanghai production in 1938, and more recently, the Zhang Yimou-directed Curse), ballet, and on display this month, opera.

Meet Shanghai's homegrown superstar of city snark: comedian Zhou Libo

Shanghai’s sharpest funnyman, Zhou ‘Bobo’ Libo, launches his new show Crazy for Money this month. His dry, acidic wit swipes at everything from corrupt government officials to China’s lifestyle idiosyncracies. We caught up with him for a chat…

What makes you a good comedian?
I’m very happy, very chilled and very honest.

Finding out what life is like in Circus World

The strongman and the acrobats, the displays of danger and the high-flying acts; everybody had dreams of running off to join the circus when they were young. Being blessed with one of the best in the world right here in Shanghai in the form of ERA – Intersection of Time, we decided to head down and talk to those that actually did it to find out what life is really like under the big top...

No plans as of yet for a devilishly good dinner tomorrow night? Fear not as those dastardly people over at Zuloo are hosting an interactive Halloween Murder mystery dinner. Here's the scene: A wealthy young man invites family and friends to a Halloween Party where he proposes to his glamorous fiancee. Minutes after the proposal though, he winds up dead. Soon it becomes clear that all was not what it seemed in his perfect life, and everyone has something to gain with his death. Guests will spend the evening interviewing the suspects over dinner, and at the end of the night prizes will be given to the correct and most inventive answers.

Date: October 31, seating start 7:30pm, dinner 8pm
Price: 150RMB each include dinner, one drink and the show

Venue: Priscilla Restaurant @IN*factory