by David Henry Hwang, directed by Ada Lupu
Gallimard: Florin Zamfirescu
Song Liling: Marius Stănescu
Helga: Irina Mazanitis
Marc: Dan Bădărău
The young woman: Elvira Deatcu / Cătălina Mustaţă
The judge: Constantin Cojocaru
Miss Chin: Jeanine Stavarache
Directed by: Ada Lupu
Stage design: Vittorio Holtier
Costumes: Doina Levintza
Choreography: Răzvan Mazilu
The National Theatre Festival, Bucharest, 2000
The Critics’ Award for Marius Stanescu, awarded by IATC, at the UNITER gala, in 2001
Opening night: January 21, 2000
The play is inspired by the real story of the French diplomate Bernard Bouriscot and of Shi Pei Pu, a primadona at the Peking Opera, his 20 years lover and the supposed mother of his children.
In 1986, a court in France accused and convicted this eccentric couple for spying for China.
In an unforgettable scene, Bouriscot found out the real identity of the primadona: in reality, Shi Pei Pu was a man.. He was so shocked that he wanted to commit suicide.
When the play was published, many criticised “M…. Butterfly” because it perpetuates the stereotype of the Asiatic effeminate man. Actually, the Asiatic actor plays only two acts of the play dressed as a woman, I’d like to think that the play explains rather well what means to be a woman and what means to be a man. This dispute has far more profound explanations than a man getting dresses in women’s clothes. I wonder if, by combining fantasy and reality, it is really possible to see the truth within a culture, within someone we love or even within ourselves. Will we be chained forever within our subjectivity and forced to understand everything trrough our prejudices ?
D.H. Hwang
