Overview
Synopsis
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.
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Context
Lucy Kirkwood was commissioned to write Chimerica in 2006 and she estimated that she spend around 100,000 hours working on the play before it was eventually produced seven years later. The play draws its title from the geopolitical term that refers to the global predominance of China and America. Chimerica premiered at London’s Almeida Theatre in May 2013, before transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End. The production won five Olivier Awards, including Best New Play.
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Act One
The famous image of 'Tank Man”' is seen projected onto the stage. The scene then moves to a hotel room in Beijing in 1989. It overlooks Tiananmen Square. Joe, a 19-year-old photojournalist, is on the phone to his editor Frank, who is back in America. Joe has been reporting on the riots in the square below and is excited to get the front page coverage of The Herald. As he talks to Frank, he sees a man walk out in front of the Chinese tanks with his grocery bags. Convinced that he
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Character Portrayals
See StageAgent members who have performed roles in Chimerica.
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Key Terms
A political ideology often depicted or explored in 20th-century epic or protest theatre for social critique.
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher