Chimerica (play)
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''Chimerica'' is a 2013 play by the British dramatist
Lucy Kirkwood Lucy Ann Kirkwood (born October 1983) is a British playwright and screenwriter. She is writer in residence at Clean Break. In June 2018 Kirkwood was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative. Early life ...
. It draws its title from the term
Chimerica Chimerica is a neologism and portmanteau coined by Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick describing the symbiotic relationship between China and the United States, with incidental reference to the legendary chimera. Though the term is largely ...
, referring to the predominance of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in modern geopolitics. The play premiered in London at the
Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...
and was directed by Lyndsey Turner. Turner's production received several awards and was well-reviewed. A
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
four-part drama of the same name based on the play was released in 2019.


Development

Playwright
Lucy Kirkwood Lucy Ann Kirkwood (born October 1983) is a British playwright and screenwriter. She is writer in residence at Clean Break. In June 2018 Kirkwood was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative. Early life ...
was commissioned to write the play that would become ''Chimerica'' in 2006, seven years before it eventually premiered. Kirkwood estimated that she spent about 100,000 hours working on the play, some of which time was spent shortening its initially four-and-a-half hour run time. The title of the play comes from the portmanteau
Chimerica Chimerica is a neologism and portmanteau coined by Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick describing the symbiotic relationship between China and the United States, with incidental reference to the legendary chimera. Though the term is largely ...
, coined by
Niall Ferguson Niall Campbell Ferguson FRSE (; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson
and Moritz Schularick, referring to the significance of the sociopolitical relationship between China and America, especially in the global economy. Kirkwood has also cited the similarity in sound between 'Chimerica' and the word 'chimera' as a reason for the title.


Synopsis

''Chimerica'' follows photojournalist Joe Schofield, who photographed the unidentified Tank Man during the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
. Twenty years later, Chinese dissident and
ESL English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...
teacher Zhang Lin, who was present during the 1989 pro-democracy protests and subsequent massacre, assists Joe in his quest to find Tank Man. Zhang Lin's fiancee, Liuli, died in the protests and flashback scenes between Liuli and Zhang Lin appear throughout the play. Joe's journalist colleagues recommend that Joe not pursue the Tank Man. After Joe returns to America, where Lin suggests the Tank Man is living, Zhang Lin is tortured by the Chinese authorities. Joe develops a relationship with Englishwoman, Tessa, who is profiling the Chinese population so that her employer can have an advantage in China. At the end of the play, it is revealed that Zhang Lin was the Tank Man.


Characters

* Joe Schofield, an American photojournalist * Frank Hadley, Joe's editor *Mel Stanwick, a journalist *Tessa Kendrick, a
market analyst Marketing strategy allows Organizational structure, organizations to focus limited resources on best opportunities to increase sales and achieve a competitive advantage in the market. Strategic marketing emerged in the 1970s/80s as a distinct fie ...
*Zhang Lin, an ESL teacher and Joe's primary contact in China *Liuli, Zhang Lin's former fiancée, killed during Tiananmen Square protests *Benny, Zhang Lin's nephew *Zhang Wei, Zhang Lin's brother, Benny's assistant *Paul Kramer, in 1989 was the Beijing correspondent for ''The Herald'' *Feng Meihui, a Chinese businesswoman living in New York *Jennifer Lee, Feng Meihui's daughter *Maria Dubiecki, a senator *David Barker, Maria's assistant *Mary Chang, a Chinese woman living in New York *Ming Xiaoli, Zhang Lin's neighbour *Doreen, Frank's assistant *Michelle, an Asian-American police officer *Officer Hyte, Michelle's partner *Herb, an American tourist, married to Barb *Barb, an American tourist, married to Herb *Kate, a British reporter at Tiananmen Square *Deng, a young Chinese businesswoman *Peter Rourke, an American CEO of a company with an office in Beijing *Dawn, Peter's secretary *Judy, a lawyer for Peter's company *Pengsi, a Chinese man living in New York *Pengsi's Wife *Guard *Nurse *Woman in Strip Club *Drug Dealer


Production history


Premiere

''Chimerica'' premiered at the
Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...
, London from 20 May 2013 to 6 July 2013, in a production co-produced with Headlong before transferring to the
Harold Pinter Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,
. The production was directed by Lyndsey Turner with stage design by
Es Devlin Esmeralda "Es" Devlin (; born 24 September 1971) is an English artist and stage designer who works in a range of media, often mapping light and projected film onto kinetic sculptural forms. Early life Devlin was born in Kingston upon Thames, ...
.


Premiere cast


Subsequent productions

In September 2015, ''Chimerica'' was performed for the first time in the United States. The production was directed by David Muse at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.. Rob Yang played Zhang Lin opposite Ron Menzel's Joe Schofield. ''Chimerica'' made its Canadian premiere at the
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country. It was founded in 1958 by Joh ...
in 2016. The production was directed by Chris Abraham and starred
Evan Buliung Evan Buliung is a Canadian actor.
as Joe and
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (born August 16, 1972) is a Korean-Canadian actor and television host. He is best known for his roles as Randy Ko in the soap opera ''Train 48'' (2003–2005) and as family patriarch Appa in the play '' Kim's Convenience'' (20 ...
as Zhang Lin. Filmmaker
Deco Dawson Deco Dawson is the professional name of Darryl Kinaschuk, a Ukrainian Canadian experimental filmmaker. He is most noted as a two-time winner of the Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Short Film, winning at the 2001 Toronto ...
provided video which was projected during the performance. This production was co-produced by the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and by Toronto's
Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is a non-profit contemporary performance arts company based in Toronto, Ontario, ''Canada''. About Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, based in Toronto, Ontari ...
. After playing in Winnipeg from February till mid-March, the production travelled to Toronto and played from the end of March to mid-April. Later in 2016, ''Chimerica'' played in Chicago at
TimeLine Theatre A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representin ...
under the direction of Nick Bowling. ''Chimerica'' premiered in Australia in March 2017.
Kip Williams Kip Williams is an Australian theatre and opera director. Williams is the current Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company. His appointment at age 30 made him the youngest artistic director in the company's history. Biography Williams has be ...
directed the
Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...
production at the
Roslyn Packer Theatre The Roslyn Packer Theatre Walsh Bay is a theatre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The theatre is on Hickson Road at Walsh Bay, west of The Wharf Theatre, opposite Pier 6/7 on Walsh Bay. It seats up to 896 people. Originally named as the S ...
. The production starred
Mark Leonard Winter Mark Leonard Winter is an Australian actor, known for performances in film, television and on stage. Early life Winter's family moved from Australia to Washington DC, United States, when he was in grade ten. It was the freedom of his American ...
as Joe and
Jason Chong Jason Chong (born 29 October 1969) is an Australian actor. Chong was born in Sydney, Australia. He graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Australia. He is frequently seen on television; his credits include: ''Wildside (A ...
as Zhang Lin among the cast of 32 actors. In February and March 2022, th
Crane Creations Theatre Company
led a play reading of ''Chimerica'' on it
Play Date
This play reading is meant to spread awareness and increase appreciation of playwrights and playwriting from around the world and to global audiences.


Adaptations

In 2019,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
released a four-part drama called ''
Chimerica Chimerica is a neologism and portmanteau coined by Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick describing the symbiotic relationship between China and the United States, with incidental reference to the legendary chimera. Though the term is largely ...
'' inspired by the play. The adaptation was penned by Lucy Kirkwood who made several changes from the original script including changing the setting from 2012 to 2016. The main character in the series is called Lee Berger and is played by
Alessandro Nivola Alessandro Antine Nivola (born June 28, 1972) is an American actor. He has been nominated for a Tony Award and an Independent Spirit Award and has won a Screen Actors Guild Award, a British Independent Film Award (BIFA), and the Best Actor Award ...
.


Reception

The play as a whole has been criticized for its ambitious runtime of over three hours. The Almeida production was described in one review as "fluent and seductive", with a "filmic quality", with the multiple set changes well-handled. The premiere was well received and garnered many awards. In September 2019, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' writers listed it as the 10th best theatre show since 2000.


Awards


See also

*


References

{{1989 Tiananmen Square protests 2013 plays Plays by Lucy Kirkwood 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre Plays set in China Plays set in New York City Beijing in fiction