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A Critical Analysis of Staging in the Korean Production of M. Butterfly (2012)

  • Journal of Modern English Drama
  • Abbr : JMBARD
  • 2012, 25(2), pp.5-31
  • Publisher : 한국현대영미드라마학회
  • Research Area : Humanities > English Language and Literature > English Literature > Contemporary English Drama

Je Hye Kim 1

1연세대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This article closely reads how the 2012 Korean production of David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly stages the script and how it interprets and materializes the essential themes of the work. The oval framed stage on the second floor displays the image of a mystical Oriental woman, Butterfly/Cio-Cio-San. However, in the ending scene, Song wears a man’s-suit and looks down on Gallimard from above, calling him “butterfly.” Similarly, Song as Cio-Cio-San performs the death scene in the opera Madame Butterfly on a flight of stairs, but theses stairs are transformed into a courthouse where Monsieur Song commandingly stands as a man. By juxtaposing different scenes on the same spot or with the same set pieces realigned, M. Butterfly effectively represents the power/gender reversal between Gallimard/Western and Song/Oriental. M. Butterfly foregrounds a mirror-relationship between Gallimard and Song in order to capture their intersubjectivity, which is germane to the play and the production’s focus on gender ambiguity. In this respect, Gallimard (who is short) and Song (who is tall) subvert the stereotypical assumption of Western and Asian men; this reversal also foreshadows their later gender-crossing. In addition, staging the double/clone scenes underlines Gallimard and Song’s inseparable subjectivity. Though not indicated in the published playscript, this production of M. Butterfly presents a scene where Song washes Gallimard’s feet as a submissive gesture to fulfil Gallimard’s fantasy of the “Perfect Woman,” which links Song’s gender/racial performance with the fact that he is also acting as a spy. Also, in this staging of Hwang’s play, Gallimard kills himself with a piece of glass (a shard from a mirror) instead of a knife. However, in this production’s staging, since Song does not leave his kimono and wig on the floor during his change, Gallimard does not wear Song’s kimono at the death scene (as the playscript calls for). Therefore, M. Butterfly fails to poignantly illustrate that Gallimard’s “melancholic incorporation” is acted out by means of sharing their clothing as a mask that disguises them both.

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