The Other Shore is Gao Xingjian's one-act play which explores the human struggle to reach a state of nirvana by crossing the river of life to the other shore. The unconventional staging and characterizations shadow the individual human experiences of solitary struggle for meaning and enlightenment.

The play begins with a small group of actors showing their interactions with each other by the use of ropes. Different emotions are exhibited by various constraints and pulling motions of the ropes. The main actor points out the lessons to be learned by the use of power and force or collaboration depending on the person's strength or willpower.

When the rope lessons are completed, the main actor asks the other actors to let down the ropes and imagine a river in front of them. The actors exhibit different personality characteristics and emotions during this imaginary river crossing. Some...