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'Richard III' performed in Mandarin at Globe Theatre

By Rory Howard: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, July 23, 2015

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The National Theatre of China performed Shakespeare's "Richard III" in Mandarin at London's Globe Theatre on July 20, 2015. Director Wang Xiaoying and the company of actors first performed this translated adaptation at the Globe in 2012 as part of the Globe to Globe 2012 festival. July 20, 2015, was the first time in London that Wang's production made full use of their special stage props and sets.

The National Theatre of China performs Shakespeare's "Richard III" in Mandarin at London's Globe Theatre on July 20, 2015. [Photo/China.org.cn]

How does a play about one of England's most notorious rulers translate to an unfamiliar audience, and how do the words of the English language's most famous playwright translate in to Mandarin? These are the questions that come to mind when watching this translated masterpiece.

Costume design has helped build a bridge between the Chinese audience and this dramatisation of English history. Gone are the frilled shirts, the codpieces, and the chainmail which Europeans are familiar with, and in come the traditional Chinese costumes that will help the foreign audience better understand characters' social roles. The clergy wear the modest robes of monks, the lords and dukes are without the opulent jewels that English aristocracy would have worn, and the three characters who take the throne throughout the play are instantly recognisable to the Chinese audience because of the golden-yellow robes that, as the colour of the Emperor in ancient China, instantly mark these characters as royalty.

The director has also injected elements of Beijing Opera in to the performance. The crowd is treated to a comic show by Zhang Zhiyong and Cai Jingchao who jointly play the part of Richard's henchman Tyrell. With the actors' faces painted with white lines in the style of Beijing Opera clowns, the pair offer comic relief with well choreographed kung-fu and sword play.

The Mandarin version of "Richard III" keeps true to most of the original script but with a few adjustments to reduce the length of the play. This version also made some notable changes to characterisation which put a different spin on a regularly told story, or perhaps to bring the play closer to the expectations of Chinese theatergoers.

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