Sunday, October 30, 2011

Live Blogging From Broadway - Chinglish

Once again we are live blogging.
And right now we're at Hurley's Bar just off Times Square. We're here with playwright David Henry Hwang and director Leigh Silverman because we are about to see their new play Chinglish which is right next door at the Longacre Theater.
Hwang says that Chinglish is a term that has been used for awhile now to describe the combination of Chinese and English that has often become necessary for Chinese and Americans to communicate. The problem is that words don't translate very well between the two languages.
He says the play is about how language misunderstandings can manifest themselves and that he didn't realize until after he wrote the play that it was a comedy .
Silverman describes the play as an outrageous comedy but she says it's also sexy and she feels like language and communication are actually characters in the play.
Silverman says the translation portions of the play engage the audience in a very special way but that the play also retains its comedy and fun even though it makes you think.
BTW: The subtitles are incorporated in a very ingenious manner.

No comments: