Exploring the polarized opinions of the general public, scholars, and theatre professionals within China, and between China and Britain, on the Chinese Shakespeare Great General Kouliulan (Coriolanus)—which combines spoken drama with rock ’n’ roll—this chapter revisits many questions that have been raised in the debate over intercultural theatre. Why are theatre practitioners interested in producing an intercultural piece? How does it happen and what do artists do? Who benefits from doing intercultural work, and for whom is it intended? Is ‘process’ necessarily more important than ‘outcome’, and is there too much emphasis on ‘we’ and ‘others’ in the debate rather than on the created work at the end of the process? Lin Zhaohua’s Coriolanus serves as the case study in the chapter but other modern spoken drama productions and traditional song-dance theatre adaptations are also mentioned to offer readers a broader understanding of Shakespeare on the Chinese stage.
Improvised Song in Schools: Breaking Away from the Perception of Traditional Song as Infantile by Introducing a Traditional Adult Practice
