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The Essential Li Yu Resurrected: A Performance Review of the 2010 Beijing Production of Lian Xiang ban (Women in Love)
- CHINOPERL Papers
- University of Hawai'i Press
- Volume 30, 2011
- pp. 229-238
- Article
- Additional Information
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CHINOPERL Papers No. 30 (2011)©2011 by the Conference on Chinese Oral and Performing Literature THE ESSENTIAL LI YU RESURRECTED: A PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF THE 2010 BEIJING PRODUCTION OF LIAN XIANG BAN (WOMEN IN LOVE) XU PENG University of Chicago In recent decades, one after another, masterpieces of the southern Chinese theatrical genre chuanqi ڇ༛ have been staged in productions that are more ambitious than stringing together the separate scenes that have been preserved in the Kunqu ዥ᳆ performance repertoire. These include Tang ;LDQ]X¶V ⑃乃⼪ (1550±1616) Peony Pavilion (Mudan ting ⠵Ѝҁ), Kong ShangrHQ¶Vᄨᇮӏ (1648±1718) Peach Blossom Fan (Taohua shan ḗ㢅 DQG +RQJ 6KHQJ¶V ⋾ᯛ (1645±1704) Palace of Lasting Life (Changsheng dian 䭋⫳↓). Their more productive colleague, Li Yu ᴢⓕ (1611±1680), however, had to wait until last year for one of his plays to receLYHVXFKDWWHQWLRQ7KHSURGXFWLRQXQGHUUHYLHZDGDSWHGIURP/LWKH VWDJH SURGXFWLRQ@´ ⭊✊, ៥гᰃᕜ㞾✊㗠✊ഄህᡞᢡ䳏ᕅⱘᛳ㾎ᐊܹ݊Ё.6 He explains his symbolic use of lighting and stage design as designed to comment on contemporary gay culture. For instance, he says that although the two female protagonists are allowed their intimate moments, they are practically always within the metal frames, and we can use the lighting to emphasize the fact that there is no relief from these frames. If the audience is able to understand that, then they will be clear: in fact these two persons are operating within constraints. ᴀϞ䛑ᰃ䨉Ḛᶊ㺣䴶,៥ৃץҹ⫼ܝᕅᔋ䂓Ḛᶊⱘ⛵㰩ϡ. 㾔㸚㽕ᰃⳟᕫពⱘ䁅,Ҫץህᯢⱑ: ݊ᆺܽןҎ䙘ᰃফࠄᴳ㏯ⱘ. 5 The translation of the scene title comes from the substantial program for the performance, which includes not only the Chinese texts for the prologue, ten scenes, and epilogue of the play, but also complete English translations of them. 6 Yang Tingting ။။³*XDQ-LQSHQJ.XQTX[XHWRX´䮰䣺區, ዥ᳆丁 (Stanley Kwan and Kunqu Sales Tricks), posted May 14, 2010 at http://www.eeo.com.cn/ 2010/0514/170153.shtml (accessed October 13, 2011). CHINOPERL Papers No. 30 234 Likewise, he says that the removal of the frames in the final scene is to allow the protagonists an instant of a more open (kailang 䭟ᳫ) expression of emotion between them.7 As mentioned above, however, this portion of .ZDQ¶V PHVVDJH²the agony imposed by and the struggle against an oppressive society²FRQIOLFWV ZLWK DQG WKHUHIRUH LV YHLOHG E\ /L