Nancy Ma and Kim Wuan in rehearsal for “The Warrior Sisters of Wu.” (Photograph by Ariel Estrada)
At auditions for Damon Chua’s new play Warrior Sisters of Wu, actors not solely needed to seize the humor and ferocity of Wan and Qing, two of probably the most desired ladies in historic China—in addition they needed to exhibit their swordplay and kung fu expertise. The play, in spite of everything, opens with spurs flying at nighttime because the sisters spar, and the struggle goes on from there. Nonetheless, appearing was paramount. As actor and struggle grasp Michael G. Chin, who serves because the present’s struggle choreographer, put it, “There’s no CGI onstage, so we have now to adapt to the actor’s talent. It’s simpler to show an actor struggle than a fighter act.”
Chua’s fashionable feminist adaptation of the 120-chapter 14th-century Chinese language epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms—about how the collapse of the Han dynasty led to the division of the nation into the Wei, Shu-Han, and Wu kingdoms—was commissioned by Pan Asian Repertory Theatre and can premiere Feb. 7-March 10 at ART/NY. “It’s like adapting the Outdated Testomony, The Iliad, or The Odyssey—I might spend my life adapting Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” mentioned Chua.
He lastly honed in on a brief however vital a part of the e-book, about two sisters within the southern Wu empire who vie with male generals and numerous suitors on the eve of battle. Incorporating components paying homage to A lot Ado About Nothing and Delight and Prejudice, it’s a narrative about sturdy, fierce ladies who struggle for his or her nation and decide their very own destinies—which can clarify why these ladies have change into common online game characters within the twenty first century.
“The occasions are 200 A.D. and the novel was written within the 1300s, however plenty of it feels related,” mentioned director Jeff Liu. “Have a look at our personal Supreme Courtroom right here—it’s an ongoing story about energy and gender. Every tradition has its personal karmic path to work by means of.”
Onstage, although, the characters flip the drama on its head with a mixture of quippy one-liners and kickass comedy. Mentioned Chua, “You need to lighten it up by having one thing individuals can perceive and seize onto. Just like the yin-yang image, it’s a matter of steadiness.”
Kelundra Smith (she/her) is managing editor of American Theatre.
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