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by Michael Man, directed by Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster

Shaw Festival, Royal George Theatre, Niagara-on-the-Lake

June 22-October 5, 2024

“A loyal heart preserved shines across history” (Wen Tianxiang, 1236-83)

When the Shaw Festival first announced it would stage The Orphan of Chao this summer, I was very excited. Finally, I’d be able to see one of the greatest classical Chinese plays and, in 1731, the first Chinese play to be translated into a European language. When I then learned that the play would be staged in the Festival’s Lunchtime slot, my excitement vanished. How could a play with an epic scope written in five acts with a prologue possibly be boiled down to only 50 minutes? If someone told you that a theatre company was going to present a 50-minute-long version of Hamlet, you would assume it would be for comic effect. Programming a great play and then hobbling it with a short running time shows little respect for the play or the actors.

The Orphan of Chao (趙氏孤兒, more commonly known as The Orphan of Zhao) is attributed to the 13th-century playwright Ji Junxiang, who lived during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The play is based on events in a history of China by Sima Qian (c.145-c.86BC) and begins during the reign of Emperor Ling of Jin (ruled 620-607BC). The trouble in the Emperor’s court is that General Tu-An Ku has developed a great hatred for Minister Chao Tun, whom he thinks of as his rival. Through various machinations General Ku succeeds in having 300 of Minister Chao’s family killed, sparing only Chao Shuo, son of Chao Tun, because Chao Shuo is married to the Emperor’s daughter. But, after Chao Shuo receives a forged document demanding his death, he commits suicide.

Chao Ting, Chao Shuo’s wife, is pregnant and confined to a heavily guarded palace. General Ku plans to kill the infant who would become the last of the Chao line. Chao Ting persuades her physician Cheng Ying to carry the child out of the palace in his medicine chest. To keep this fact secret Chao Ting commits suicide. The physician is stopped by the guard Han Jue, who feels compassion for the child and allows Cheng Ying to escape. Knowing he will be tortured when his action is discovered, he commits suicide.

When he learns the infant is still alive, General Ku orders that all the newborns in Jin must be killed. To keep the baby safe Cheng Ying visits the retired minister Gongsun Chujiu. The aged minister decides that the Chao heir needs a younger person like Cheng Ying to raise it to maturity. Since he is too old to do so, he and Cheng Ying make a terrible plan. Cheng Ying will give Gongsun his own newborn child. If General Ku finds him, Gongsun will say the child is the orphan of Chao and both will die. This will stop General Ku’s planned massacre of the newborns and Cheng Ying can secretly raise the Chao heir.

As it happens, General Ku, who has no children, adopts the child he thinks is the physician’s son as his own and names him Cheng Bo. Eighteen years later, when Cheng Bo has reached maturity, Cheng Ying shows him the journal he has been keeping of the child’s family history. Upon discovery of his real identity, Cheng Bo vows revenge on General Ku.

The original play continues, showing the Cheng Bo’s revenge and succession as head of the Chao. The Shaw Festival production, however, abruptly stops with a blackout just after Cheng Bo rallies his followers. Thus, the play ends at the Shaw with no clue whether Cheng Bo succeeds or fails – not the most satisfying way to end a play about revenge.

Forcing the complicated action into the space of only 50 minutes means that the play as translated and adapted by Michael Man consists almost entirely of characters narrating the plot. There is little character interaction in terms of dialogue and virtually no time for characters to reflect on their actions. In the original Cheng Ying’s giving up his only child is a major emotional scene. Here it is a simple exchange of babies. In the first half of the play, it seems that characters introduce themselves only to commit suicide two minutes later.

In China The Orphan of Zhao is classified in the zaju (雜劇) or “variety theatre” genre of drama. This form combining prose, poetry, dance, singing, mime and comedy. Of these the Shaw production completely omits dance, singing and comedy, likely because there is so much plot to get through in so little time.

Despite a play that is all plot without resolution, the Shaw production does have its virtues. Director Courteney Ch’ng Lancaster has formed her six-person troupe into a tightly knit ensemble. All have adopted the same style of non-naturalist acting and all slip easily from background role to major role and back. Lancaster writes in her Director’s Note that her direction has been inspired by Brechtian models, and the show does display numerous examples of why that kind of approach works so well with an epic story. The play begins when the performers break through a gate in modern dress and then proceed to put on period costume. Thus, as often in Brecht, we see actors playing actors playing characters. Actors narrate their actions as they perform them. Lancaster links various actions in the play by the use of long banners of fabric. Death is represented by a white banner wrapped about the dead person. A red banner flowing from Chao Tun is her blood as she gives birth. Her child is represented by a purple banner wrapped up in a bundle, Cheng Ying’s by a sky blue bundle. When Cheng Ying’s baby is killed, the bundle is thrown upwards and falls apart.

Given the complex plot and the short running time, the actors only have the chance to create a single impression of their characters. Jonathan Tan is a ruthless, monomaniacal Tu-An Ku. Lindsay Wu is a frightened Chao Ting. Richard Lee is a perceptive, heroic Han Jue. Donna Soares is a morally upright Emperor Ling and later a fiercely loyal Cheng Ying. Eponine Lee plays Cheng Bo as a shouting, posing anime character. Only John Ng is able to imbue his character with some richness. His Gongsun Chujiu begins as a grumpy old man who persuades himself through reason to undergo self-sacrifice.

The designers cleverly blend opposites. Christine Ting-Huan Urquhart’s costumes combine ancient and modern elements, just as Jareth Li has placed a delicate iron gate in front of a massive, cracking concrete wall.

In 2012 the Royal Shakespeare Company produced James Fenton’s adaptation of the plan which had a running time of two hours thirty minutes. It was so popular the RSC brought it back in 2013, and it went on to further productions in San Francisco, San Diego and Ashland, Oregon. What I wish most is that the cast and creative team for the Shaw Festival production would go on to create its own full-length version of the play since that is what this great work and the performers deserve. Also, since Lancaster has made such imaginative use of Brechtian techniques, I would like to see her tackle masterpieces by Brecht like The Good Person of Szechwan (1943) and The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1948) that the Shaw Festival has somehow managed to ignore in its 62 seasons.

Christopher Hoile

Photos: Jonathan Tan as General Ku and Donna Soares as Emperor Ling; John Ng as Gongsun Chujiu; Eponine Lee as Cheng Bo and Donna Soares as Cheng Ying. © 2024 David Cooper.

For tickets visit: www.shawfest.com.