Pan Asian Rep presents Film Chinois at Theatre Row
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre presents the off-Broadway premiere of Singaporean playwright Damon Chua's mystery thriller Film Chinois, directed by Kaipo Schwab, which begins previews on 17 January 2015, before an official opening on 22 January, and continues its limited run through to 8 February 2015 at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre.
Tisa Chang, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre's Artistic Producing Director, released a statement saying:
"What I admire about this play is that it's not only a clever take on the film noir genre; it is a compelling story of deep-seated personal and nationalistic conviction, with high stakes of life and death, and its relevance is ever more apparent when America is expected to do 'the right thing'."Playwright Damon Chua added:
"I'm very excited about my off-Broadway debut. As a Singaporean playwright working and living in New York, I feel very lucky to have found Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, who shares my passion and vision for this play. I hope to show an American audience what Singaporean writers can offer, both in terms of storytelling and our views about the world around us."Film Chinois is "a noir infused thriller of spy-versus-spy intrigue and dangerous romantic liaisons in the vein of Hollywood's classic films such as 'The Maltese Falcon.' The play takes us back to 1947 Peking, an uneasy time between WWII and the imminent Communist takeover two years later. It stars Pan Asian veteran Rosanne Ma as Chinadoll, a Maoist femme fatale, Benjamin Jones as Randolph, a fresh-faced American operative on a secret mission, and James Henry Doan as the mysterious man. Further complicating things are Jean Brassard as the Ambassador who seems to know Peking too well; his current flame, Simone, a songstress with something up her sleeve. As Randolph plunges deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness, he finds his life imperiled, as he begins to unravel the mystery of a piece of old home-made film."
The full cast of Film Chinois includes Jean Brassard, James Henry Doan, Katie Lee Hill, Benjamin Jones, and Rosanne Ma.
The creative team features set design by Sheryl Liu, lighting by Marie Yokoyama, costumes by Carol Pelletier and sound design by Ian Wherle.
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