American playwright Lucy Kirkwood’s play Chimerica (an amalgam of China and America) pivots around an atrocious episode in human history, the Tiananmen Square massacre, when the Chinese Government military gunned down hundreds of students protesting against the lack of democracy in China.
Though it pivots around this true life event, Kirkwood has created a fictional world featuring a major what if scenario.
What if some twenty odd years after the terrible event, there was a brief, cryptic article in a Chinese newspaper which American photo journalist Joe Schofield reads. Schofield was the photographer who took the Tank Man photo which went ‘viral’. The article claims that Tank Man is still alive and that it is likely that he is living in New York in the Chinese community there. Joe makes it his personal mission to find him so that his story can be told. Helping him is journalist Mel Stanwyck.
At first Joe’s editor, the gruff Frank Hadley, is approving of his quest, but soon goes cold on it and tells him that he can do it on his own time. Frank wants him to focus on the coverage of the American elections.
There are a few other storylines to follow. Joe has formed a close friendship with Beijing dissident, ESL teacher Zhang Lin who tries to help him find Tank Man. We get to know Zhang’s brother and his inner circle. Thee is a scene of him being tortured by a Chinese agent which is very distressing.
Joe has a romance with Tessa, an English marketing analyst, that although has some substance to it.
The New Theatre’s current Artistic Director Louise Fischer directs a satisfying production. His creative team; Set Designer Tom Bannerman, Lighting Designer Michael Schell, Video Designer Verica Nikolic, Costume Designer Andrea Tan, Sound Designer Paris Bell, and Assistant Director/Costume Assistant Tui Clark create this troubled world for the actors to perform in. Nikolic’s video design, with a large screen projection, some times fast, heart breaking images, was particularly impressive. Veteran designer Bannerman had stage left a red cave like structure stage in which some of the actors waited. I couldn’t work out what this structure was supposed to represent.
The usual high standard in acting is a feature of this production. Special mention for the performances of Oliver Burton in the lead role as Schofield and the other two main performances, that of Jon-Claire as Zhang Lin, Les Asmussen as the gruff newspaper editorF rank Hadley and Jasmin Certoma as Tessa.
I was fortunate enough to go on opening night. It was so good to see many people of Asian descent and also so many Asian people in the audience lending their support.
Summing up, My main feeling was of being overwhelmed. Whenever I see plays about man’s inhumanity to man I go into a dark place. I enter the theatre with a heavy heart and I leave the theatre with a heavy heart.
There’s a feeling of hopelessness. That people will never change. Look at the war in the Ukraine. History keeps on repeating. Lessons are never learned. We are no closer to John Lesson’s song ‘Iamgine’- ‘Imagine there’s no country/It’s easy if you try/nothing to kill or die for/and no religion too…
I can’t even imagine it any more.
Lucy Kirkwood’s Tank Man play is as relevant as ever.
CHIMERICA opened at the New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown. on Tuesday 12th August and is playing until Saturday 10th September, 2022. Performances are Thursdays to Saturdays 7.30pm and Sundays at 5pm. The final performance will be at 2pm on Saturday 10th September 2022.
https://newtheatre.org.au/chime
Production photography Chris Lundie