Performing Identity in the Plays of Gao Xingjian : An Encounter of Chinese and French Cultures

This is a refreshing new look at a theater scholar and Nobel Peace Prize laureate viewed from a cultural studies lens.

This exploration of transcultural theater is valuable to both the general and initiated reader.

It embraces the social and aesthetic influences of traditional Chinese theater and the intellectual, cultural influences of French theater.

Before winning the Nobel Prize for literature in 2000, Gao Xingjian did not register prominently on the culture radars outside of China and France.

Clearly, Gao and his work were not completely ignored in the world before his award.

However, it was only after 2000 that he became a sort of cultural darling of France and of his native and alienated China.

Much of the hype surrounding Gao was precisely his nebulous nationality and cultural heritage.

Depending on which newspapers one read announcing his award, one could surmise Gao to be either Chinese or French.

He already had been recognized as a significant literary figure in France, and awarded the title of chevalier des lettres (1992).

Additionally, his novel Lingshan (Soul Mountain) had been published in two languages, and his plays had been produced in theatres across the globe. Gao's work as a visual artist had been exhibited widely and received praise and been published in 1996 in Taiwan and 1998 in France.

He hardly could be considered an unknown. What was debatable in 2000 and still questionable today is Gao's identity.

It is this concept that I will explore in this book.

Identity in the context of nationality, place, and performance will all be discussed: I will explore Gao's complex presentation of identity on these three different levels as they are expressed in his theatrical works.