M. Butterfly
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- The article is about the play. For the film version, see M. Butterfly (film).
M. Butterfly is a 1988 play by David Henry Hwang that deals with themes of cultural stereotypes of East vs. West and is loosely based on the real life relationship between Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei-Pu.
The play was inspired by the opera Madama Butterfly. Some critics have suggested that the opera is racist and sexist in its portrayal of Asian women as being the 'ideal woman', due to their supposed submissiveness and passivity, and that the opera fits into a longer tradition of western writers imagining the East according to their own prejudices. Others argue that the play is an attempt to deal with and even subvert these patterns.
The first act introduces the main character, Rene Gallimard, who is a civil servant attached to the French embassy in China. He falls in love with a beautiful Chinese opera diva, Song Liling, who is actually a man masquerading as a woman. In traditional Beijing opera, females were banned from the stage, all female roles (dan) were played by male performers.
Unbeknown to Gallimard, Song is also a spy for the Chinese government and uses the relationship with Gallimard to extract vital information. Gallimard is eventually sent back to France in disgrace for his role in completely misinterpreting (thanks to Song) the native Vietnamese and Chinese in the Vietnam War. He also divorces his wife Helga because he loves Song so much. Since Gallimard has been sent back to France, Song is no longer useful to the Chinese government and the government tortures him for having sex with a man.
Act two begins with Song coming to France and resuming his affair with Gallimard. They stay together for 20 years until the truth is revealed, and Gallimard is convicted of treason and imprisoned. Unable to face the fact that his "perfect woman" is actually a man, he retreats deep within himself and his memories. The action of the play is depicted as his disordered, distorted recollection of the events surrounding their affair.
The third act portrays Gallimard committing seppuku (a type of Japanese suicide through self-disembowelment) while Song watches and smokes a cigarette.
M. Butterfly premiered on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on March 20, 1988. It was directed by John Dexter. The original cast featured John Lithgow as Gallimard and B.D. Wong as Song Liling. David Dukes, Anthony Hopkins, Tony Randall, and John Rubenstein also played Gallimard at various times during the original run.
The play was made into a 1993 movie directed by David Cronenberg.
An audio production was created by L. A. Theatre Works in which John Lithgow and B. D. Wong reprised their lead roles. [1]
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