Li Yangduo, manager and producer of DrumTower West Theater in Beijing.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

Still, Li calls herself a novice in the business.

For about seven years, Li was a Guangzhou-based producer and distributor of television dramas and TV movies.

Her first significant exposure to theater was Stan Lai's The Village, a 3.5-hour epic about the mainland diaspora in Taiwan. She later dipped her toes in this part of showbiz by becoming a local presenter for some of Lai's shows.

Six years ago, Li moved north to Beijing, unarguably the epicenter of China's theater creativity.

"I watched lots of plays here. Many were warm and uplifting, but I wanted something that was thought-provoking, something that shed light on the dark corners of humanity," Li tells China Daily.

She picked Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman as the opening salvo, directed by Zhou Ke, a promising talent with a flair for staging uncompromising fare.

The buzz was immediate: A new venue for audacious work was born.