FANCY a "chicken without a sex life"? How about a plate of "roasted husband"? And while you're at it, let's order a side of "onion explodes in sheep". In David Henry Hwang's acclaimed comedy Chinglish, the mangled English one encounters in China - be it on menus, on the streets or in restrooms - becomes the subject of great hilarity and head-shaking.

Set to be staged by leading theatre company Pangdemonium, the story centres on American businessman Daniel Cavanaugh (played by Daniel Jenkins) who goes to Guiyang, China, in the hope of clinching a lucrative contract to make proper English signs for the city's cultural centre. A signage in Shanghai's performance hall that read "Deformed Man's Toilet" for the handicapped restroom had gone viral and become a national embarrassment, so Guiyang's minister (Guo Liang) is eager not to make the same mistake.

But in China, Daniel finds himself struggling with all manner of miscommunication. For instance, when he modestly introduces his company as a "small family business", the interpreter for the Chinese minister translates it as a "tiny and insignificant" company.