Representing O Neill

字號:

---- Chinese Theatre In Intercultural Transformations
    Since the 1920's Eugene O'Neill's plays have constantly been adapted and produced on Chinese stage. Such events are significant not only theatrically but even more so culturally, providing a good illustration of how Chinese and Western theatres can be brought together within a broad cross-cultural context. Through a historical overview of these events, it can be argued that efforts to modernize indigenous Chinese theatre by means of assimilating Western dramatic traditions have rendered our theatre intercultural. The distinctive national features of Chinese theatre, however, have been retained and sometimes revived during this process. The act of representing O'Neill, both in the framework of dialogue-based Western drama and in that of traditional Chinese opera, demonstrates that by virtue of incessant intercultural transformations a new Chinese national theatre is now coming into being.