China's first West End hit

Lady Precious Stream is a spoken drama adaptation of a Chinese opera, Wang Baochuan, written, translated into English, and directed by S. I. Hsiung, a writer and friend of the famous Chinese actor Mei Lanfang.

The play opened at the Little Theater on the Strand, London, on Nov 27, 1934 and ran for an incredible 733 performances, even seen by the Queen. It moved to Broadway and was subsequently translated into numerous languages and performed around the world.

The play's significance lies in the fact that it was the first play to be written and directed by a Chinese immigrant and staged in London's West End.

In his talk "Chinoiserie and Subalterneity", Ashley Thorpe, lecturer in theater in the Department of Film, Theater and Television at the University of Reading, will discuss the conclusions he has drawn from his investigation of the text of the drama as a piece of performance from 1930s.

Date: Nov 19

Venue: College Buildings, Room G50, Russell Square

Website: www.soas.ac.uk

(China Daily 11/09/2012 page31)