27 April 2017
Chinglish
The Park Theatre
reviewed by Adam McCormack
Star rating: ****
The strap line of: “The first rule of doing business in China…always bring your own translator,” fits well with a play that derives great humour from the discomfort and consequences of mistranslation. But what makes this play especially compelling is not inadvertent mistakes, but the underlying motives and hidden agendas of each of the protagonists. To what extent can they use the language barrier, and cultural differences, to further their own aims?
Daniel (Gyuri Sarossy) is an American businessman under pressure to generate a significant order for his struggling family business which produces signage. He is new to this, having been part of the fall-out from the Enron scandal. China is seen as the big opportunity, but business negotiations present great challenges in terms of culture and communication. Daniel employs an English teacher, Peter, as his translator, but Peter also has underlying motives, aspiring to business consultancy rather than just teaching and translation. On the other side of negotiations is a local party official, Cai (Lobo Chan) who is charged with developing a new cultural centre, which will need signage. While appearing to be receptive (he is indebted to “Teacher Peter”) he has already promised the deal to a relative. He is also being advised by Xi Yan (Candy Ma), who appears to bring steely resilience to the sales process, but is really monitoring the behavior of Cai, who the party sees as ineffective in his role. Negotiations are further complicated by Xi Yan’s seduction of Daniel – is this because she is in an unhappy marriage, keen to help Daniel, or are there other motives?
This is the European premiere of a Broadway hit comedy by David Henry Hwang and the pace and craftingof the wordplay make for a highly entertaining production. Duncan Harte as Teacher Peter gives a stand out performance that few, given the need for fluency in Chinese, could deliver, and Candy Ma is perfect in enrapturing both Daniel and the audience. The play does hint at the darker side of government control in China, but never seeks to be anything more than a comedy; those seeking the former kind of production are better off watching Chimerica. This play is much more about seeing the humour to be found in a clash of cultures and in reading between the lines of human behaviour. It surely merits a West End transfer.
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