Shanghai Dolls at Kiln Theatre
In 1935 Shanghai, two women meet in a mostly empty theatre. One is preparing to audition for the lead role of Nora in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, while the other seeks a safe house, running from an unspecified threat. This first chance encounter will go on to shape each of the women’s lives in immense ways, as their relationship changes amidst the shifting political backdrop of a transforming China in Amy Ng’s Shanghai Dolls.
The two women at the centre of Shanghai Dolls are Lan Ping – an ambitious actress who will one day go on to become Jiang Qing, wife of the Communist leader Mao Zedong – and Li Lin, whose real name is Sun Weishi, daughter of military director Sun Bingwen and China’s first female director. Their shifting names mirror the various stages of their lives, as the play traces the trajectory of each woman’s transformation into the role for which they will become known.
Ng’s task in re-telling the stories of Jiang Qing and Sun Weishi is ambitious, with a script spanning 33 years and encompassing massive moments in China’s history. Yet, given the enormity of the episodes taking place on the stage – Japan’s invasion of Nanking, the proclamation of the New People’s Republic of China, the Cultural Revolution – the show’s 80-minute run-time demands a slight rush. The result is a play that relies a bit too heavily on exposition and doesn’t delve as deeply into the emotional lives of its characters as theatregoers might have hoped.
Nevertheless, Gabby Wong and Millicent Wong give powerful performances, shining particularly brightly in the moments where audiences get a look into the intimacies between the two women, who once vowed to never let anything get in the way of their friendship. The play is also a strong testament to how patriarchal powers can warp and ruin things that should be beautiful and powerful, such as art, theatre and female friendships.
In telling the story of two complex and formidable female figures in China’s history through the lens of their changing relationship to one another, Shanghai Dolls attests to the undeniable entanglement of the personal and the political. While it would benefit from more attention and time having been given to the personal, the play remains a touching and ultimately tragic exploration of two of the most influential women to come out of Shanghai in the 20th century.
Madison Sotos
Photos: Marc Brenner
Shanghai Dolls is at Kiln Theatre from 11th April until 10th May 2025. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.
Watch the trailer for Shanghai Dolls at Kiln Theatre here:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
RSS