"It's a universal theme that makes it relevant to a broad audience," says Meng, a rock star of China's theater scene. "No matter if you are in Melbourne or Beijing, Berlin or Tokyo, you can appreciate Brecht's moral fable."

Meng paints his surrealist Sichuan as a dark and drug-addled cesspit and his adaptation is an "even darker and more violent" version of Brecht's already bleak tale. He said no to "obvious Chinese props, declining even to put Sichuan's famous hotpot on the stage.

"Yes, materialism is rampant and young people in China today are far more individualistic. But the message I want to give is that money is not important but that the future is."

The cast is extraordinary, he says. "They have good imagination, an amazing energy and they use it very well."

Portraying Shen Te is Australia's burlesque queen Moira Finucane.

This is the first play she has done since 1991. At the time, Finucane had been working in federal politics. Trained as an environmental scientist, she was testing new ground. She sees this return to theater as pushing boundaries in the heady world of burlesque.

The main challenge is the language. Meng's English is not strong, and the cast doesn't speak Mandarin.

"But as long as everyone is clear on the big directions, the big vision, problems are solved one by one," he says.

Shen Lin, a professor at the Central Academy of Drama, is eager to see Meng's work.

"It's risky to stage Brecht, who is a complicated combination of thoughts and entertainment. Meng is certainly the kind of person who would like to take risks, does not fear failure and is committed to taking things to the edge," says Shen.