After more than two years of renovation, the historic Minghua cruise ship at Sea World in Shekou is set to reopen in October as an immersive performance complex, aiming to fuse the reform-and-opening-up heritage with cutting-edge international theater productions.

The debuting production “The Deal” is co-produced by China Merchants Shekou, China Merchants Culture, and the U.K.’s renowned Gecko theater company, with Amit Lahav serving as artistic director. Billed as China’s first original immersive physical production tailored to a ship’s cabin spaces, it will make its world debut aboard the refurbished vessel next month.

A scene from "The Deal," China’s first original immersive physical production designed for a ship’s cabin spaces. Photos courtesy of China Merchants  

Drawing creative inspiration from Goethe’s “Faust” and Gogol’s “The Overcoat,” “The Deal” follows Marcel, a poor, gentle, and timid man who falls in love with a colleague and struggles to prove himself in a competitive workplace. Pressured by ruthless competition, Marcel makes a fateful bargain to exchange his soul for a magnificent “coat” that symbolizes power, wealth, and success. After a fleeting taste of triumph, Marcel confronts the true meaning of life.

The piece blends realism and romanticism into a modern fable about ambition, survival, and the choices that shape one’s destiny.

A scene from "The Deal."

The play’s movement-based aesthetic breaks language barriers by telling its story through physical performance, precise choreography, striking visual composition, and live music. Its narrative structure combines one main storyline with multiple subplots across eight scenes throughout the ship. There are no fixed seats, and audiences follow actors through the vessel as they choose which narrative threads to pursue, creating a highly personal viewing experience.

Led by Lahav and an international creative team, the production has drawn on a global casting process that screened more than 2,000 candidates to assemble 36 top performers from 12 countries. The production is aimed at filling a gap in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s performing arts market for internationally produced original works, according to the producers. It also intends to position the renovated Minghua, now renamed Ancerville, as a new cultural landmark for Shenzhen.

Cast members perform in scenes from "The Deal."

Originally launched in 1962 as the French luxury liner Ancerville, the ship served routes in the Mediterranean, West Africa, and South America. The ship was sold to China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) and renamed Minghua in 1973. In 1983, the ship was berthed at Shekou to host overseas investors and businesspeople. In January 1984, Deng Xiaoping boarded the vessel and inscribed the name Sea World, making the ship one of Shenzhen’s landmarks and a witness to the city’s reform and opening up era.