Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1989 - 16

pinnacle of present-day contemporary
theatre practices in China. This progression however will likely be hindered in production innovations by
nationalistic views and priorities
which affect the lack of engineering
solutions such as turntables, elaborate
fly lofts, and more sophisticated lighting systems customary in Western
theatres.
An interpretive decision near the
end of the play by the Horizon director
caused quite a stir among both the
Chinese and Western audience members. The rather startling appearance
of an American student at Nanjing
University playing O'Neill, accompanied by the Chinese actor playing
announces
Andrew Mayo when the character returns from sea to find his brother near
death and farm in ruin, was an unexpected reincarnation of the author
himself! This remarkable resemblance was enhanced by the Chinese
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subtitles rolling vertically on the stage
right proscenium wall, explaining the
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The "O'Neill" character walked
around looking at the setting as if recognizing his work and spoke kindly to
Andrew, encouraging him to attend to
his ailing brother Robert, then leftmusing still of his creation in pleased
tones. The Horizon company was warned that the Ameridrama troupe which had the challenge of infusing two
cans attending would be offended by this convention. We
levels of foreign material into its own increasingly modem
were not! O'Neill I am sure was not offended, but was
Chinese world view: (I) the Western O'Neill, onto (2) the
early Chinese. The set was what will surely become
smiling incarnate right there on the stage!
This is the kind of bold artistry which marked both
known as what I shall call the "Chinese A-frame unit
this production and The Emperor Jones, but was sorely
set" - a set which I predict will be used in various forms for
lacking in the production of O'Neill's seminal, autorealistic productions of Chinese plays, written by contembiographical Long Day's Journey Into Night.
porary Chinese playwrights. Similar minimal stagings of
Long Day's Journey was presented by Quian Xian
contemporary Chinese plays have been done in the pastDrama Theatre (the "Front Players"), a Nanjing military
not to be confused with Chinese opera, China's main form
sub-area of the People's Liberation Army. The director
of theatre, which is presentational, centuries old, and
Zhang Fuchun is in the military, has a master's degree in
marked by its own set of conventions and carefully contheatre, and is an actor and playwright. Founded formally
trolled spectacle, most notable in its costuming and not in
its staging.
in 1955, this group actually dates from the anti-Japanese
war period of the late thirties. They consider themselves
The Horizon set featured a triangular shape with the
propagandists as well as artists, and had never produced a
base open toward the audience ("third-wall" as opposed to
foreign play prior to this production of O'Neill's Long
"fourth-wall" convention) with low platforms on each of
Day's Journey. According to the assistant director, the
the sides and at the apex rendering an 'A-frame" constructroupe felt influenced by O'Neill's "tragic spirit," and
tion. Posts supported a slight abstraction of a traditional
thought O'Neill indeed speaks to "all human beings."
Chinese tiled roof. One got the transport of Chinese archiThis production was the least successful of the three
tecture with the prominent roofs and sculptured overNanjing productions, suffering most acutely from its
hangs. Scene changes were loud, cumbersome, and long,
translation. According to the translator, Jiang Hongding,
since the Yanan theatre was equipped with virtually no fly
emeritus professor at Jiangsu Education Institute in Nanmechanisms. Also, Chinese scenic practices are informed
jing, the length of the play was a particular problem (some
by the same work ethic as much of their massive construcO'Neill concerns are universal!). Chinese audiences must
tion movement across the country: manual labor is conbe able to get home well before 11 pm since the last public
sidered best because then more people work and many
transportation in cities leaves shortly before that. The
people need to work.
performance began at 8 pm and ended at 10:35 pm withno
Whereas the contemporary Chinese theatre is in its
intermission, a long evening for any audience. The focus of
infancy, the O'Neill productions in Nanjing marked the

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SPRING 1989

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