Performing China on the London Stage

Ashley Thorpe is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Drama & Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. His first book, The Role of the Clown (‘Chou’) in Traditional Chinese Drama was published in 2007, and he has contributed to numerous journals, including Contemporary Theatre Review, Theatre Research International and Asian Theatre Journal.

“Thorpe’s study offers a wonderful overview of the ways in which Chinese theater has been imagined, translated, adapted, and imported onto the London Stage for four hundred years. … Much more useful and interesting is the way this large overarching thesis allows for a series of fascinating case studies of Chinese theater imagined, imported, translated, and adapted for the London audience.” (Paize Keulemans, CHINOPERL, Vol. 37 (2), 2018)

• Introduction.- Chapter 1. Chinese drama in the European Imagination before 1736.- Chapter 2. ‘Confucius’ morals to Britannia’s ears'.- Chapter 3. From page to stage.- Chapter 4. Fashion, chinoiserie and modernity in The Circle of Chalk, 1929.- Chapter 5. Seeking subalterneity in S.I. Hsiung’s Lady Precious Stream, 1934.- Chapter 6. 'A traditional play in the traditional manner'.- Chapter 7. Chinese opera in the diaspora from 1949.- Chapter 8. Opening the stage door.- Chapter 9. Postmodern politics.- Conclusion.