Nanjing is a city in China with a history that seems irresponsibly overlooked by western education. Jude Christian describes the Nanjing’s story through her connection to China and a pacifism born from faith. While Christian did speak at length about her grandparents and ancestry on both sides, and described her deep roots in both Penang and the Isle of Man, this piece was more of an exercise in philosophy.
Christian introduced the idea of ‘militant pacifism’ early on, an idea planted by Albert Einstein in a letter written to Sigmund Freud and then, using the Nanjing Massacre as her backdrop, explored what that means. How can one engage in a principled and active resistance without causing harm? It’s a fascinating subject to delve into and she does it thoughtfully and effectively.
The monologue is contemplative and affecting, and the set design complements the tone beautifully. It is a bare stage with a large circular piece of white cloth and several stones that are eventually placed in a semi-circle around the cloth to memorialize certain figures in her story; both from her life and from Nanjing’s history. It is a very well paced monologue, the uninterrupted hour never dragged and finished perfectly on time, and there is a skillful spattering of humour throughout providing brief respite but never enough to break the mood completely.
On occasion I found the repeated words and interrupted sentences, a style often found in spoken work poetry, to be overdone but it did not significantly harm the performance. This is well worth a watch. The central philosophy is provoking and I imagine the core history is little know to most audiences. I should mention that the retelling of the ‘Rape of Nanking’ is never gratuitous but it is a difficult and upsetting topic and audiences should brace themselves for that.
I hope to see more from Jude Christian particularly if she continues to pursue such interesting ideas in her work.
Reviewer - Deanna Turnbull
on - 27/2/19
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