The Phoenix Cabaret
by Xie Min; translated and adapted by Jia Lin Peng & Henry Beissel
- 1988 Factory Theatre Café
The Phoenix Cabaret is a celebration of two feisty Chinese women – Fan Shin and Ah Lan – true revolutionaries battling bureaucracy in their own backyards. Told in flashback, Why I Am Dead opens with Fan Shin’s escape from prison and shows her struggle against a powerful local official – her husband. Hot Air is a farce set in a crematory where Ah Lan revives her old beau, Fatty Jin, with a bicycle pump. A Party hack in life, Jin tries to use his old bag of political tricks on Ah Lan – with surprising results.
- Dora Mavor Moore Award: Outstanding Set Design
Dawn Obokata and Jane Luk; photo credit unknown
