{"id":9312,"date":"2022-01-24T07:30:08","date_gmt":"2022-01-24T07:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=9312"},"modified":"2022-01-25T11:15:45","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T11:15:45","slug":"one-of-chinas-most-well-known-expats-takes-to-the-stage-in-a-new-one-man-show-about-the-boxer-rebellion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/one-of-chinas-most-well-known-expats-takes-to-the-stage-in-a-new-one-man-show-about-the-boxer-rebellion\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you should see ex-China businessman Mark Kitto’s one man play"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark Kitto was one of the most well-known foreigners in China for much of the 1990s and 2000s, as founder of the That\u2019s<\/i> entertainment magazines. Tom Pattinson<\/b> speaks to him from his Norfolk home to learn more about his new one-man theatre show soon to be performed in London<\/h2>\n

When I speak to Mark Kitto from his North Norfolk home, he is sporting a neat handlebar moustache. Accompanied by ever-so-slightly greying hair, a strong jawline and a booming voice, Kitto looks every bit an early 20th-century military general.
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The moustache, he explains, is a necessity for the latest chapter in his ever-evolving career. All three of the characters in his solo theatre show Chinese Boxing<\/i> \u2013 a play about the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 that he has written, directed and is starring in \u2013 sports a form of moustache.<\/p>\n

Kitto, the former metals trader, well-known publisher and hotelier, has managed to fit more careers into his five decades than most people could in a lifetime. But his latest \u2013 and arguably most rewarding \u2013 career shift is treading the boards up and down the country in his one-man show.<\/p>\n

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The former Welsh Guards Captain has achieved success in a number of different industries but is best known for his time as one of the early foreign publishers in China as the founder of the That\u2019s<\/i> Magazines series. The English language publications were an essential guide for expats to navigate Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, informing them of the best places to eat, drink, and shop, as well as how to enjoy some of the country\u2019s burgeoning cultural scenes. But when the business started to become financially successful, local government rivals decided to take his licences and effectively evict him from his own business.<\/p>\n

In 2009, Kitto published a book documenting the travails of setting up businesses in China. That\u2019s China <\/i>was<\/span> an entertaining and often eye-opening account of the risks of doing business in China during China\u2019s period of rapid growth and desire for earning a quick buck \u2013 at any cost.<\/p>\n

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Kitto outside his hideaway in Moganshan (Photo: Shiho Fukada)<\/p><\/div>\n

After he was removed from his own publishing business, he moved to the mountain retreat of Moganshan, two hours west of Shanghai, which was the summer destination of wealthy British expats and Chinese triads alike a century before. Most of the stunning villas that were built in the early 20th century had fallen into ruin so Kitto and his wife set up a cafe and guesthouse to appeal to 21st-century expats looking to escape the hustle and bustle of modern-day Shanghai. Kitto wrote a second book, China Cuckoo<\/i>, about his eight years in the cool bamboo forests.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>Of all the places in China, [Moganshan] is the one where I most felt part of the community for the very simple reason that the locals, the older guys, had all grown up surrounded by foreigners,\u201d Kitto explains. \u201cTheir parents worked for foreigners, and when I appeared in the village, it was a simple case of, \u2018Oh yeah, they\u2019re back.\u2019 So what they did was treat me like, \u2018Where have you been all this time,\u2019 which was really, really nice for China.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n