Tiananmen Square, 1989. After almost two months of student-led protests, tanks roll into the square and massacre innocent demonstrators. Capturing it on camera is Joe, a young American photojournalist who has a prime view of the violence from his hotel window. His photo of ‘Tank Man’ becomes one of the most famous images of the period. Fast forward to 2012 and Joe is covering the US presidential election. Debate rages over the cost of labor and the outsourcing of American jobs to Chinese factories. When Joe discovers that there is a possibility that Tank Man could still be alive, he sets out on a mission to discover the truth behind his image. Just who was he and what happened to him? As the quest for the truth begins to take over Joe’s life, he must question just how far he is prepared to go.
Chimerica is an epic, five-act play that vividly portrays and questions the shifting balance of power between East and West…and those caught in between.
Chimerica guide sections
