tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14178551.post6532078488778788904..comments2023-10-21T14:06:43.859+01:00Comments on Border Crossings Blog: ChimericaMichael Wallinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05796245815745673857noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14178551.post-34643408240897959652013-06-26T11:24:47.990+01:002013-06-26T11:24:47.990+01:00Dear Vera
You are, of course, quite right. Barnab...Dear Vera<br />You are, of course, quite right. Barnaby Martin flew to Beijing when Ai Weiwei was released, and managed somehow to get past the sleeping guards to meet the man and talk to him - so that play is in a way autobiographical. On the other hand, its success with UK audiences is to do with our desire for a particular type of heroic story in relation to what is regarded as a repressive regime - it fits very well with the traditions of Arthur Miller, Robert Bolt etc. <br />But your point is important - Howard Brenton has said that he felt in writing the play, he was part of a larger Ai Weiwei project, and I don't for one second discount the significance of that.<br />MichaelMichael Wallinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05796245815745673857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14178551.post-46798254675865356172013-06-26T10:21:40.007+01:002013-06-26T10:21:40.007+01:00Thanks for this article. On the point of, "ou...Thanks for this article. On the point of, "our theatres seem to like their Chinese heroes in captivity, being tortured and interrogated by Kafkaesque authority figures."I wanted to say that I think that "The Arrest of Ai Wei Wei" is an Ai Wei Wei project, initiated by the man himself i.e. the show came into being because he wanted his story performed. So it's not really as if "British theatre" created a piece showing the romance of a Chinese hero in captivity.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06108907974689763708noreply@blogger.com