The Interpretation and Misinterpretation of the Verfremdungs effect on the Modern Xiqu Stage
Criticizing the “culinary theatre”[1] of his age, Brecht elaborated on the epic theatre and the Verfremdungseffect (V-effect), and constructively interpreted/misinterpreted Mei Lanfang’s jingju performance to back up his idea. Since the 1980s, xiqu[2] performances that interweave different performan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IATC
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Critical Stages |
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| Online Access: | https://www.critical-stages.org/18/the-interpretation-and-misinterpretation-of-the-verfremdungseffect-on-the-modern-xiqu-stage/ |
| _version_ | 1819282899328827392 |
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| author | Lin Chen |
| author_facet | Lin Chen |
| author_sort | Lin Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Criticizing the “culinary theatre”[1] of his age, Brecht elaborated on the epic theatre and the Verfremdungseffect (V-effect), and constructively interpreted/misinterpreted Mei Lanfang’s jingju performance to back up his idea. Since the 1980s, xiqu[2] performances that interweave different performance cultures have flourished on the Chinese stage. Productions in this vein include: kunqu Macbeth (1984), bangzi Medea (1993), yueju Hedda Gabler (2006) and jingju Metamorphosis (2013). The yueju performance The Good Person of Jiangnan adapts not only the dramatic text of Brecht’s The Good Woman of Szechwan, but also endeavors to practice the V-effect with the materiality of the performance. This attempt distinctly transgresses the common “western story, eastern body” mode. This paper, firstly, elaborates upon the practice of the V-effect, especially the method based upon the traditional xiqu role system, within The Good Person of Jiangnan. The V-effect requires making the action strange, alien, remote or separate, and, consequently, inspires the audience to think. Yet, The Good Person of Jiangnan’s adaptation of the “story” together with the “body” ensured no critic of the culinary theatre. In the context of modern China, as the “world’s factory,” and the major social issue of migrant workers, it is surprising that this production gave rise to little discussion of this subject. Instead, the hot topics of debate turned out to be its perceived lack of authenticity and its relationship to the global intercultural tendency. This paper endeavors to explore the reason for this debate, based upon critical analysis of the production. Furthermore, the profound reasons for the traditional cultural upsurge and the authentic discourse of xiqu will also be considered. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T01:22:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b034912e376249d39b4c31c06afd5379 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2409-7411 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T01:22:55Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | IATC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Critical Stages |
| spelling | doaj.art-b034912e376249d39b4c31c06afd53792022-12-21T17:22:36ZengIATCCritical Stages2409-74112018-12-0118The Interpretation and Misinterpretation of the Verfremdungs effect on the Modern Xiqu StageLin ChenCriticizing the “culinary theatre”[1] of his age, Brecht elaborated on the epic theatre and the Verfremdungseffect (V-effect), and constructively interpreted/misinterpreted Mei Lanfang’s jingju performance to back up his idea. Since the 1980s, xiqu[2] performances that interweave different performance cultures have flourished on the Chinese stage. Productions in this vein include: kunqu Macbeth (1984), bangzi Medea (1993), yueju Hedda Gabler (2006) and jingju Metamorphosis (2013). The yueju performance The Good Person of Jiangnan adapts not only the dramatic text of Brecht’s The Good Woman of Szechwan, but also endeavors to practice the V-effect with the materiality of the performance. This attempt distinctly transgresses the common “western story, eastern body” mode. This paper, firstly, elaborates upon the practice of the V-effect, especially the method based upon the traditional xiqu role system, within The Good Person of Jiangnan. The V-effect requires making the action strange, alien, remote or separate, and, consequently, inspires the audience to think. Yet, The Good Person of Jiangnan’s adaptation of the “story” together with the “body” ensured no critic of the culinary theatre. In the context of modern China, as the “world’s factory,” and the major social issue of migrant workers, it is surprising that this production gave rise to little discussion of this subject. Instead, the hot topics of debate turned out to be its perceived lack of authenticity and its relationship to the global intercultural tendency. This paper endeavors to explore the reason for this debate, based upon critical analysis of the production. Furthermore, the profound reasons for the traditional cultural upsurge and the authentic discourse of xiqu will also be considered.https://www.critical-stages.org/18/the-interpretation-and-misinterpretation-of-the-verfremdungseffect-on-the-modern-xiqu-stage/brechtv-effectchinese theatrexiqu performance |
| spellingShingle | Lin Chen The Interpretation and Misinterpretation of the Verfremdungs effect on the Modern Xiqu Stage Critical Stages brecht v-effect chinese theatre xiqu performance |
| title | The Interpretation and Misinterpretation of the Verfremdungs effect on the Modern Xiqu Stage |
| title_full | The Interpretation and Misinterpretation of the Verfremdungs effect on the Modern Xiqu Stage |
| title_fullStr | The Interpretation and Misinterpretation of the Verfremdungs effect on the Modern Xiqu Stage |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Interpretation and Misinterpretation of the Verfremdungs effect on the Modern Xiqu Stage |
| title_short | The Interpretation and Misinterpretation of the Verfremdungs effect on the Modern Xiqu Stage |
| title_sort | interpretation and misinterpretation of the verfremdungs effect on the modern xiqu stage |
| topic | brecht v-effect chinese theatre xiqu performance |
| url | https://www.critical-stages.org/18/the-interpretation-and-misinterpretation-of-the-verfremdungseffect-on-the-modern-xiqu-stage/ |
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