Scenography and Social Space: Heterotopia at the Arnaya Theater Festival in China

This article examines the Aranya Theater Festival through the lens of Michel Foucault’s heterotopia theory, analyzing its intricate relationship between spatial practices, cultural capital, and class dynamics in contemporary China. Situated within a gated tourist resort, the festival constructs a distinct heterotopic space that challenges conventional theater boundaries while reinforcing social hierarchies. We argue that the festival serves as a hybrid platform where cultural and real estate capital converge, elevating the community’s status while accentuating social divisions. Through an analysis of scenographic practices, audience experience, and spatial politics, this study reveals how such cultural events become instruments of elite distinction rather than democratic cultural engagement. The findings contribute to ongoing debates on urban development, cultural consumption, and spatial justice in China’s neoliberal landscape.