The play M. Butterfly, was written by David Henry Hwang. To help the actors gain a complete understanding of the play, a resource packet with references to the people and events that the play is based on, information on the role of women in 1960s China, and information on the opera Madama Butterfly would be provided to them.
The characters Rene Gallimard (Hwang, pg. 1672 line 1) and Song Liling (Hwang, pg. 1679 line 4) are based loosely off Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, respectively, and their relationship in the 1960s followed by the discovery of Shi Pei Pu’s deception and then the resulting case of espionage that they were convicted for by the French Government. Also, while the play depicts Gallimard being in jail at age 65, Boursicot was actually convicted and released before the age of 50. By understanding the true story that the play M. Butterfly is based on, the actors in the production can more accurately understand where the playwright …show more content…
This production sent out the message that the need to feel accepted and loved can lead people to do things that they never thought they were capable of and/or never wanted to do all while not allowing themselves to be loved by those who do and instead feeling isolated. But, when vulnerable and willing to be helped and help others can people overcome the need and allow themselves to feel wanted.
During the climax of the production, when JD kills Kurt and Ram, Veronica makes a choice between going along with JD’s plan of making the murders look like suicides or not. In an attempt to feel loved by someone after being horribly rejected by everyone she thought were her friends, Veronica went along with JD’s plan because he said he loved her and wanted to be with her. In turn, she ended up fueling his idea of being able to change the world by killing people who wrong them or
The characters Rene Gallimard (Hwang, pg. 1672 line 1) and Song Liling (Hwang, pg. 1679 line 4) are based loosely off Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, respectively, and their relationship in the 1960s followed by the discovery of Shi Pei Pu’s deception and then the resulting case of espionage that they were convicted for by the French Government. Also, while the play depicts Gallimard being in jail at age 65, Boursicot was actually convicted and released before the age of 50. By understanding the true story that the play M. Butterfly is based on, the actors in the production can more accurately understand where the playwright …show more content…
This production sent out the message that the need to feel accepted and loved can lead people to do things that they never thought they were capable of and/or never wanted to do all while not allowing themselves to be loved by those who do and instead feeling isolated. But, when vulnerable and willing to be helped and help others can people overcome the need and allow themselves to feel wanted.
During the climax of the production, when JD kills Kurt and Ram, Veronica makes a choice between going along with JD’s plan of making the murders look like suicides or not. In an attempt to feel loved by someone after being horribly rejected by everyone she thought were her friends, Veronica went along with JD’s plan because he said he loved her and wanted to be with her. In turn, she ended up fueling his idea of being able to change the world by killing people who wrong them or