Acting The Right Part: Political Theater And Popular Drama In Contemporary China; Author: Chen, Xiaomei; Paperback

Author: Chen, Xiaomei
Paperback; 25 Illustrations
440 pages
Published: January 2002
University of Hawai'i Press
ISBN: 0824824830

Acting the Right Part is a cultural history of huaju (modern Chinese drama) from 1966 to 1996. Xiaomei Chen situates her study both in the context of Chinese literary and cultural history and in the context of comparative drama and theater, cultural studies, and critical issues relevant to national theater worldwide. Following a discussion of the marginality of modern Chinese drama in relation to other genres, periods, and cultures, early chapters focus on the dynamic relationship between theater and revolution. Chosen during the Cultural Revolution as the exclusive artistic vehicleto promote proletariat art, model theater raises important questions about the complex relationships between women, memory, nation/state, revolution, and visual culture. Throughout this study, ChenThis title provides a cultural history of huaju (modern Chinese drama) from 1966 to 1996. It is situated both in the context of Chinese literary and cultural history and in the context of comparative drama and theatre, cultural studies and critical issues relevant to national theatre worldwide.