Sinophone Adaptations of Shakespeare: An Anthology, 1987-2007

Description

Shakespeare’s tragedies have been performed in the Sinophone world for over two centuries. Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear are three of the most frequently adapted plays. They have been re-imagined as political theatre, comedic parody, Chinese opera, avant-garde theatre, and experimental theatre in Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. This ground-breaking anthology features the first English translations of seven influential adaptations from 1987 to 2007 across a number of traditional and modern performance genres in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taipei. Each of the book's three sections offers a pair of two contrasting versions of each tragedy - in two distinct genres - for comparative analysis. This anthology is an indispensable tool for the teaching and research of Sinophone theatre's engagement with Western classics in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Acknowledgments Contents Expanded Table of Contents Notes on Contributors Chapter 1: Sinophone Shakespeare: A Critical Introduction Selection Criteria Historical Context The Region as Method The Sinophone World Contrasting Approaches to the Tragedies Conclusion: Recurring Themes Part I: Existentialist Questions in Post-Socialist China and Post-Martial-Law Taiwan Chapter 2: Hamlet as Political Theatre in Beijing: Hamuleite by Lin Zhaohua (1990) Chapter 3: Hamlet as Parody in Taipei: Shamlet by Lee Kuo-hsiu 李國修 (1992 / 2008) Prologue: Curtain Call (Taipei) ACT I: Opening Day (Taipei) ACT II: Rehearsal I (Taichung) ACT III: Second Rehearsal (Taichung) ACT IV: Rehearsal Three (Taichung) ACT V: Performance Day (Taichung) ACT VI: Rehearsal 4, Followed by a Public Performance (Taichung) ACT VII: Performance Day (Tainan) ACT VIII: Fifth Rehearsal (Taichung) ACT IX: Fengping Theater Troupe (Kaohsiung) ACT X: Final Performance (Kaohsiung) Part II: Bewitched by Kunqu Opera and Avant-Garde Theatre Chapter 4: An Operatic Macbeth in Shanghai: The Story of Bloody Hands by Huang Zuolin 黃佐臨 (1987 / 2008) Chapter 5: A Feminist Macbeth in Tainan: The Witches’ Sonata by Lü Po-shen 呂柏伸 (2007) Part III: Self-Identities in Traditional and Experimental Jingju Opera Chapter 6: A Confucian King Lear in Shanghai: King Qi’s Dream 岐王夢 by Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company (1995) Chapter 7: A Buddhist King Lear in Taipei: Lear Is Here by Wu Hsing-kuo 吳興國 (2001) Act 1: The Play Act 2: Playing Act 3: A Player Chapter 8: Coda: Theatrical Bricolage of Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello in Beijing (1986) Act I: Hamlet Act II. Macbeth Act III: Lear and Othello Act IV: Us and Them Index