LONDON (AP) ― Ai Weiwei appears to be standing in front of a London theater, which would be some trick, even for the provocative and unpredictable Chinese artist.

The sculptor, photographer and installation artist renowned for his bicycles and sunflower seeds spent almost three months in detention in 2011 and remains barred from leaving China.

At second glance the burly, bearded figure turns out to be British actor Benedict Wong, who is about to star as the artist in a stage play about his incarceration. The play was Ai’s idea, and though he won’t be there for Wednesday’s opening night at the Hampstead Theatre, it’s the latest act in his artistic campaign for freedom of expression.

“The play is part of his project,’’ said Howard Brenton, the British playwright who has scripted “(hash)Aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei.’’

“Early in the rehearsals we were having a discussion and we suddenly thought, ‘Oh, we’ve all been sucked into his project.’ Which is fine. He asked for the play, we’ve delivered it.’’

Brenton is a little worried about reaction to the play ― though not from the critics. Ai’s long history of needling the Chinese authorities has often had serious consequences.

“I was very aware that it’s not dangerous for me to write it,’’ Brenton said. “It could be dangerous for him for me to write it.’’

The 55-year-old Ai is one of the world’s most famous artists, celebrated abroad with exhibitions from Tokyo to London to Washington, D.C. At home, he has been alternately encouraged, tolerated and harassed by officialdom.

He helped design the striking “Bird’s Nest’’ stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but the next year was beaten so badly by police he needed surgery for bleeding on the brain.