Behind the Mask, A Play

Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America presents: “Behind the Mask, A Play” by Chinese authors Feng BaiMing and Huang WeiRuo

“Behind the Mask, a Play” is an original drama written by Fang BaiMing and Huang WeiRuo (China). Directed by Chongren Fan, a NY-based director who is originally from Shanghai. Performed in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles.

In a theater space somewhere in China, a troupe is rehearsing for a story about a Chinese mythical hero, Mei Jian Chi. The myth depicts a tyrant, the King of Chu, who orders the death of his two master swordsmiths as part of a ritualized process to forge the world’s sharpest blades, using human blood. Their son, Mei, seeking revenge, devises a death ploy with an errant by offering his own living but decapitated head to the King.

Fragments of the mythical story switch in and out from snippets of mundane and personal follies of the struggling troupe during rehearsal. Through the play, we get to learn about the troupe and the pressures of the artistic life in contemporary China.