The Physical Guerrillas (Lingyun Yan Physical Guerrilla Troupe) is an independent performance and film laboratory based in Jinan, founded by artist, experimental theatre and film director, and body-based educator Li Ning. Rooted in visual art, sculpture, and physical theatre, the studio develops long-term research across stage works, art films, site-specific interventions, and community projects, treating space itself as a collaborator rather than a neutral backdrop. Over the past decades, the group has toured internationally to festivals in Amsterdam, Avignon, Aurillac, Tokyo, New York, Brussels and beyond, while also initiating rural and factory-based festivals in Shandong that weave contemporary art into everyday life. Alongside creation, the studio runs workshops and teaching programs such as “Body Sketching and Re-Creation,” building a bridge between non-professionals and contemporary performance, and pursuing Li Ning’s core ideal: to allow theatre to once again become a shared form of public life.
