The Emperor of China is not happy. A bumper harvest has devalued his cotton shares and drained the imperial coffers. His team of spin doctors resort to desperate measures to bump up the price, but will they be able to conceal the truth from the public? With the hand of the beautiful Princess Turandot on offer to the man whose intellect can save the dynasty, the dashing Gogher Gogh arrives at the palace… but he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the box.

Written just before Brecht's death and never performed in the UK, this comic parable is based on a Chinese fairytale which also inspired Puccini's opera of the same name. In Brecht's piece, Turandot takes on an irreverant tone in a comedy about the true nature of knowledge.

For mor about Turandot at the Hampstead theatre, read the First Night Feature.