Much more than a storm in a teacup

The Beijing People's Art Theater (北京人民藝術劇院) is following up its huge success of 2004 when it brought Teahouse to Taipei with its long-running production of Thunderstorm, an iconic work of modern Chinese drama. The production will complete its booking at the National Theater in Taipei this weekend, presenting a great opportunity to observe solid, old-fashioned stage melodrama.

There is not a lot that is new about the play Thunderstorm. After all, it was written in 1934, and if we draw a comparison with the Western theater, there is certainly not very much from that period that has survived the test of time and changing mores and social concerns. The plays of Terrance Rattigan or J.B. Priestley, major figures in their time, are now rarely revived. More often than not they seem hopelessly dated and can, at best, be appreciated in the spirit of nostalgia for a time of stricter and more comprehensible dramatic conventions. So the question inevitably arises: Why should anyone want to see such an old chestnut?

Thunderstorm, and Cao Yu (曹禺) its author, were part of a theatrical efflorescence in the 1920s and 1930s that saw Chinese writers espouse the styles of Western theater to explore the intensely complex social and political issues of the period. The style, which is often polemical, was influenced by Shaw, Ibsen and O'Neill, all of whom were well known in China at the time, and all through the play, the audience is never in any doubt that this is morally serious drama in which the dramatist is thrashing out an issue of great importance. Unfortunately, the melodramatic elements can sometimes get out of control, taking the play dangerously close to self-parody and farce. Nevertheless, in the hands of the Beijing People's Art Theater, the play is almost able to live up to its very considerable reputation.

The group has been producing the play on a regular basis since the early 1950s, and is closely associated with the works of Cao Yu. On this occasion, the playwright's daughter Wan Fang (萬方), who adapted another of her father's plays The Wilderness (原野) for performance as a Beijing opera (which was performed at the National Theater last week), has accompanied the group over to Taiwan. At a press conference last week, director Xia Chun (夏淳) lauded the many virtues of the play, which is regarded by many critics as being superbly constructed. Seen now, the adherence to the Aristotelian unities and the contrasts of pacing and mood, lend the play a faintly nostalgic quality, but the fine craftsmanship can still be appreciated.

It is in those elements that the author tries to shock the audience, such as in the revelation of incest within the family, that the play can seem to fall a bit flat.It is in its more banal aspects that the production finds its voice. Its exploration of familial dynamics within an oppressive patriarchal family, a beloved theme of Chinese drama and cinema (think Raise the Red Lantern among many, many others), that the play truly shines, and Gong Lichun's (龔麗君) central role of a matriarch who sees her family and all she holds dear gradually unravel before her eyes, is the lynchpin of the current production.

Xia said Thunderstorm is a play that evolves, giving each era what it requires. In its original incarnation, Thunderstorm focused on the conflict between an authoritarian capitalist father and a son who wanted to be one with the people (and who was in love with a maid working for the family). The second incarnation, which took shape in the 1980s focused on the question of guilt, and the apportioning of blame for past wrongs. The third incar-nation, which is currently being performed in Taipei, focuses on the struggle of human beings in the face of an implacable fate. In 2004, the Beijing People's Art Theater gave a fine performance of Tea House, and is in fine form with Thunderstorm. In the former, it was the depth of the ensemble's acting that raised the play to a level seldom achieved by local groups, which often lack sufficient depth of talent; however, with this current show, in which the focus will be on bravura performances by star performers, audiences will be able to make direct comparisons with local performers.