by Xingjian Gao
Come on, take us to the pub to have a drink.
You’re our host, how come you’re here in the snow?
You’re a giant, and we have to look up to see you.
You’re famous, so famous that we’re scared of you.
We admire you, but we don’t want to idolize you.
You’re no more than a crook, only we don’t have your tricks.
Get up and come with us.
You should donate money to our charities for children, you must know that children need money the most.
You went through the forest alone, a forest even the devil fears to tread, you’re number one.
You’re a pathfinder, you’ve walked out a road nobody wants to walk on, you’ve led people astray.
You’re lucky, not everyone is as lucky as you are. It’s not that you’re more talented than the others, it’s only that they don’t get the chance to show what they’ve got.
You’re the tops, let’s us give him a pat on the behind!
(The Crowd laugh coldly and sinisterly. Some start to pull at him and grapple with him.)
Crowd:
(Suddenly.) Here he comes!
Talk of the devil.
Make way.
(Shadow backs in as the Crowd step aside to make way for him.)
Man:
(Weakly.) Who are you?
Shadow:
Your heart.
(As the Crowd watch the drooping, blind, and deaf heart slouching past them, Shadow quietly drags Man away. The Crowd slowly follow behind the heart which is extremely old and actually invisible. All exit.)
(One by one the Actors enter from the other side.)
Actors:
We set off before dawn. The morning dew was thick, and in the dark we heard the cows breathing while they were chewing grass on a small hill nearby. In the distance, the river bend was enveloped in a shade of deep blue light brighter than the sky.
He told us a fable.
I dreamed that there’s a piece of ivory in my stomach, it scared me to death!
Have you thought of becoming a bird?
Why a bird? I’m happy with the way I am, and he says he loves me.
Faulkner.
I like “Roses for Emily.”
I called you up many times.
Do you know how to read palms?
No need for any explanations, you don’t have to explain any more!
This kitten is so cute.
I think I’ve seen you somewhere.
I have a sweet tooth, and I’m also a sucker for sour milk.
Your hair looks so nice, is it real?
(The sound of a baby crying.)
Sweetie, oh, sorry, I forgot to change your diapers!
(The sound of a car engine starting.)
How are you going to get back?
It’s so bad, what kind of stupid play is this anyway?
Are you doing anything tomorrow? Shall we have dinner together?
(Sounds of a baby crying, a car engine starting and running, bicycle bells and the trickle of running water from a tap, and in the distance, the siren of an ambulance.)
The end
Some Suggestions on Producing The Other Shore
1. The so-called “spoken drama” (huaju) tends to emphasize and highlight the art of language; in order to free drama from its constraints and to revive drama in all its functions as a performing art, we have to provide training for a new breed of modern actors. As with the actors in traditional operas, these new actors must be versatile, and their skills should include singing, the martial arts, stylized movements and delivering dialogues. They should also be able to perform Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekov, Aristophanes, Racine, Lao She, Cao Yu, Guo Moruo, Goethe, Brecht, Pirandello, Beckett, and even mimes and musicals. The present play is written with the intention of providing an all-around training for the actors.
2. An ideal performance should be a unity of somatics, language, and psychology. Our play is an attempt to pursue this unified artistic expression and to assist the actors to achieve this goal. In other words, we should allow the actors the chance for linguistic expression in their search for suitable somatic movements, so that language and somatics are able to evoke psychological process at the same time. For this reason, during rehearsals and actual performances, it is not advisable to separate dialogue from movement, i.e., to memorize only the dialogue, to do reading as in common practice, or to strip the language and transform the play into a mime. Certain scenes in the play do not feature dialogue, but there are still other aural expressions, which could be regarded as a kind of sound language.
3. Even though our play is abstract, the performance should not aim at sheer conceptualization in the stark fashion of the play of ideas. Our aspiration is to achieve a kind of emotive abstraction through performance, i.e., a non-philosophical abstraction. The play seeks to set up the performance on the premise of non-reality, and to fully mobilize the imagination of the actors before evoking abstraction through emotion. Therefore the performance requires not only the unity of language and somatics but also the unity of thought and psychology.
4. Except for a few simple props, the performance does not require any scenery. The characters’ relationships with their surroundings and other objects are contingent upon life-like dialogue and communicative exchanges in the play. In the case of monologues or in the absence of dialogue, music, sound effects, movement, the look of the eyes and changes in posture could also take on performing roles, so that the props and surroundings will not be relegated to being inanimate objects or mere adornments.
5. The play highlights the performance’s ability to ascertain in the mind of the audience the existence of non-existing objects, for instance a decrepit heart, a concrete or abstract river. We may say that this is the inherent difference between a film and a theatrical performance. Even though the play itself relies heavily upon imaginary surroundings, relationships and acting partners, real and life-like objects can be deployed as stage props at the beginning of the performance. For instance, an interpersonal relationship could be established through a piece of rope. Once an actor is equipped with the capability to relate with others, he can easily communicate with his non-existent partners anytime, anywhere. He can also materialize his non-existent partners through his power of imagination, making them come to life and communicate with them, even though they have been created through his own imagination and are actually non-existent.
6. Grotowski’s training method aims at helping the actor to discover his own self and to release its potential through big-movement exercises which also relax both body and mind. Thus he calls this type of performance a form of sacrifice. Our play’s performance helps the actor to ascertain his own self through the process of discovering his partners. If the actor, without being obsessed with his own self, is consistently able to find a partner to communicate with him, his performance will always be positive and lively, and he will be able to gain a real sense of his own self, which has been awakened by action, and which is alert and capable of self-observation.
7. The play demands that the actors abandon completely the kind of performance dependent upon logic and semantic thinking. The liveliest performances are exactly those which are intuitive, improvisational, and on the spur of the moment. On the stage as in real life, the actor sees with his eyes, hears with his ears, and captures his partners’ reactions with his free-moving body. In other words, a performance can only be lively without the use of intellect. Therefore it is best not to resort to literary analysis outside of theatrical performance or to uncover hidden meanings in the text in performing the play.
8. Our play aims at training actors who can be as versatile as the actors in Chinese traditional operas, but it is not our intention to create a new set of conventions for modern drama, because the latter aspires to the kind of acting which is non-formulaic, unregulated, and flexible. Before the actual performance, the actor should enter into a state of competitiveness similar to that of an athle
te before a game, or of a cock preparing to slug it out in a cock-fight, ready to provoke as well as to receive his partners’ reactions. Thus the performance must be fresh, regenerating, and improvisational, which is essentially different from gymnastic or musical performances.
9. The play’s performance strives to expand and not to reduce the expressiveness of language in drama. The language in a play is voiced language, but it is not limited to beautifully written dialogue. In this play, all the sounds uttered by the actor in the prescribed circumstances are also voiced language. If an actor has learned to communicate using fragmented language which features unfinished sentences, disjointed phonetic elements, and ungrammatical constructions, he will be better able to make the unspoken words in the script come to life as voiced language.
The above suggestions are for reference only.
Annotation
[24-1]A percussion instrument made of a hollow wooden block, used by Buddhist priests to make rhythm while chanting scriptures.
Between Life and Death
Characters:
An actress playing Woman
A clown playing Man, Ghost, and Old Man
A female dancer playing Woman’s imagination
Objects:
A clothes rack on which is hung a man’s suit
A woman’s jewellery box
A mannequin’s arm and leg
A small house made of toy blocks
A withered tree and its shadow
A piece of rock
Between Life and Death. Théâtre Renaud-Barrault Le Rond-Point, Paris, France. Directed by Alain Timárd. 1993.
Between Life and Death. Centre for Performance, University of Sydney, Australia. Directed by Gao Xingjian. 1993.
Between Life and Death. Dionysia Festival mondial de Théâtre contemporain, Veroli, Italie. Directed by Gao Xingjian. 1994.
(An empty and dimly lit stage. Woman has on a long skirt and a large black shawl. She has a pale complexion. Man is behind her to one side. He is wearing a black tuxedo; his complexion is even more pallid. The two remain motionless for a long time.)
Woman :
(She wants to say something but stops. Eventually she cannot hold back and speaks in an indifferent voice.) She says she’s had enough, she can’t take it any more!
(Man raises his hand slightly.)
Woman :
(Cannot control her outburst.) She says she can’t understand how she’s managed to endure it, to put up with it for so long until now. Him and her, she says she’s talking about him and her, their relationship just can’t go on like this, it’s not living or dying, and it’s been so difficult, so enervating, so uncommunicative, so muddled, and so entangled. It’s so sickly and so tense that her nerves are going to snap at any time. She’s talking about her spiritual being, the spirit and the nerves are all but the same thing, there’s no need to be so picky about words!
(Man shrugs his shoulders.)
Woman :
(Keeps on talking garrulously in the same manner as before.) She says she can’t understand, really can’t understand how it could’ve come to be like this. She can’t explain it clearly, it’s just like a ball of unruly hemp, all tangled up. She’s not talking about him, she knows perfectly well what he’s thinking in his head; she’s talking about him, who’s been disturbing her to no end, driving her to be so jumpy and so harried. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about, she doesn’t know whether she’s made herself clear enough.
(Man makes a face.)
Woman :
(Somewhat irritated.) She says this is exactly what she can’t put up with, the cynicism, the quizzical attitude! But she’s dead serious, she wants to talk it over with him calmly and in control of herself. Don’t you think he understands? But once their talk touches on the subject, he’ll put on the same old expression, and she just can’t help getting herself all stirred up! She can’t stand it any more, she can’t keep on like this any longer, she means the relationship between him and her.
(Man puts on a bitter expression.)
Woman :
(Somewhat weary.) She says she knows exactly how he’ll react once she mentions it. She’s seen it countless times, she has long had a taste of his hypocrisy. He’s a coward, he has no manliness left in him whatsoever, yet he still wants to pull a fast one and pretend to be somebody. She doesn’t understand how she could live with him, eat dinner with him at the same table, stay with him in the same room, and sleep with him on the same bed, go places together like a man and his shadow, and still have nothing to say to each other.
(Man is silent.)
Woman :
She says she knows he’s got nothing to say, what more can he say? He’s said all he wanted to say and could say, the beautiful lies and all that sweet talk, with so much gallantry and so much flattery. He could’ve readily repeated them to anybody, any woman. Only when he’s with her, he’ll pretend and conceal himself behind his silence—
(Man opens his mouth and attempts to speak.)
Woman :
No, it’s better for him not to say anything. She says she knows he’ll just repeat the same old tune again. She’s grown sick and tired of it, she can’t take it any more. She doesn’t want to hear that hypocritical voice coming from the bottom of his throat, the reluctant laughter, a laughter which is cold and obsequious and harbours an insidiousness which cannot contain itself. His sophistication and his manners, they’re a sham, a total sham! He was only playing to the occasion, but now the play is over. He had planned everything, he knew how the whole thing would end even before it got started.
(Man presses his lips together, quite at a loss.)
Woman :
She says she knows him only too well, she can read him like a book, now there’s only indifference in her eyes. The astuteness, intelligence, and passion that she saw in his smiling eyes, they all came from his glasses. Now that the glasses are taken off, there is no more glitter, only weariness, iciness, and cruelty, just like his selfish heart, where there is only egotism and unconcern. He only wanted to take without giving, to possess her, and to enjoy himself, he got what he wanted, he has used her and played with her, now there’s only boredom and apprehension. But he’s still holding back, waiting for her to explode first. She’s no fool, who doesn’t know about his bag of tricks? (Snickers.)
(Man pouts his lips and keeps shaking his head.)
Woman :
She says there’s no use shaking his head. No shaking can shake her determination, no shaking can change her mind, and no shaking can ever refute or erase the harm he has done her. Any more shaking will be meaningless, it won’t cover up the hypocrisy in his heart. He’s never been faithful to her, never—
(Man raises his right hand, attempting to explain.)
Woman :
(Shouts.) She doesn’t want to hear it! She doesn’t want to hear the lies! Save them for the bobby-soxers! His sugary talk has been a fraud from beginning to end. She’ll never again believe that there’s true love in the world, don’t talk to her about loving or not loving!
(Man opens his left hand, so that his right hand faces up and his left hand faces down, striking a strange pose.)
Woman :
She says if she wanted to possess she’d possess everything, if she wanted to love she’d love with all her heart, she wouldn’t allow even the tiniest bit of untruth, otherwise, she’d rather have nothing at all. She wanted to possess him, to possess all their feelings together, even if they should be darkness personified, all the sounds and movements of darkness. But she’d already known that there was no way she could possess this man completely. The darkness, the whispers, suffocation, tolerance, agony and happiness they shared together, he also shared them with other women in the same way. She’s not the only one, she might as well sever their relationship and leave him once and for all.
(Man changes his pose. Now his right hand faces down and his left hand faces up, striking an equally strange pose. He then raises his hands up high and d
oes a flip in the air, landing with his back facing the audience.)
Woman :
(Starts muttering.) She says she doesn’t understand how there could be so much disloyalty and betrayal, so much indifference among people and between men and women, it’s so frustrating, so disheartening, and so unbearable. The dating games, trendy clothing, genuine and fake jewellery, woman’s vanity and man’s attention are all deceptions. Movies, pop stars, dancing parties, theatre-going, and even taking a trip together are nothing but excuses to flirt and make out, what follows is either contraception or litigation. The disapproval on a man’s face and a woman’s tantrums, they don’t mean anything to her any more, all she wants to do is to cry her heart out, just like a small child—
(Man slowly turns his head. Somewhat moved, he takes out a dark blue silk kerchief from his suit pocket and squeezes out a teardrop.)
Woman :
(At a loss.) But she says she’s run out of tears, there is only hopeless solitude now. She just wants to lock herself up and refuse to see anybody. She’s afraid when the telephone rings, the sudden ringing makes her heart jump, she has unplugged the phone. She can’t stand the noise of cars coming and going, when they brake or when someone starts the engine outside her window, she’s agitated to no end. She is also afraid of lights, the colour of the lampshade, the crimson carpet, the pillow cases with violets embroidered on them, and the leather slippers on the shaggy carpet. What she detests most is this picture of him in the gilded picture frame beside the tulip-shaped wall lamp, so shamelessly full of himself!
