Shanghai Dolls Review: The history of Madame Mao di Arte life, revolution and resentment is canceled by the clichés

Set in the 1930s ShanghaiIn a theater that also acts as a secret socialist home, we meet Jiang Qing – Mao Zedong’s future wife – tests Henrik Ibsen’s A doll house. Here, he meets Sun Weishi, who will become the first female theater director of China. But for now, there are only two actors without a penny standing on the margins of the upheaval, both personal and political. Based on the real life of two women who have contributed to defining the Chinese cultural revolution, Shanghai dolls Explore the desire and consequences of artistic freedom.

“A revolutionary obedient, the perfect oxymoron” is the way Jiang Qing is described. An actor who sees art as the path to being and escape, wishes the recognition-una vast so white that he will lead her to become the ornamental and vindictive wife of one of the most tyrannical leaders in history. In the meantime, Sun is already connected to political elite. It has access to education, influence and artistic training, all the things that Jiang craves alone. The game maps the way the roles are gradually reversed, the powers that move together until one becomes the oppressor and the other is oppressed.

The material of origin here is undeniably compelling: a story felt of resentment and repression. But this production falters in its execution, opting for a melodramatic and borderline tone that underestimates its message.

Gabby Wong (Jiang) and Millicent Wong (sun) offer highly stylized performances, sometimes brands, which initially enchant with their energy and chemistry. While the political background is obscured and history requires more emotional weight, however, their exaggerated delivery jars. Stark mentions of famine and cannibalism are followed by interpretative scenes of dance torture and interpretations of Okaa Oklahoma! who turn into the pantomime. The tonal whiplash leaves little room for emotional impact. In the same way, the incessant repetition of the comedy of his “women as dolls” the metaphor gradually drains the drain of any power.

Despite the fake tonal steps, there is an impressive job behind the scenes. Delivered by a creative team for all females, led by director Kate Posner, the show design is the place where the comedy really happened. His opening image – a minimalist phase, so full of smoke that, if illuminated, recalls a dusty page transformed by a history book – is surprising. Visually, the world feels intimate and unstable.

Clever Shadow Play and news that burn on projected paper keep the public anchored in the temporal sequence of the comedy, while the military sound landscapes nod the political disorders of the building. The public must never question where we are in this story – or how they are close to these characters for their fall.

Structurally, the game of AMG NG visit these women in the key points of their life while we witness the transformation of Jiang into Madame Mao. The way in which he evolves from the actor to the decorative wife and finally to the resentment bulldog, fast to bite those who dare to express the artistic freedom that has been denied it.

Anger bleeds Shanghai dollsBrilliantly and brutally incorporated by both actors. It is a pity that these moments are few and far from each other, quickly included by the exaggerated and out of place humor that defines most of this production.

Shanghai dolls It is a game with flashes of brilliance and a solid base with its rich historical background, fascinating characters and urgent themes. If only he could find the nuance and moderation to make that story speak for himself.

At the Kiln theater until 10 May; Tickets and more information here