The Power of Communication: Intergeneration, Intermediality and Transculturality in Documentary Theatre About My Parents and Their Child

Bao, Hongwei

Abstract

About My Parents and Their Child is a play commissioned by Ibsen International, directed by Matthias Jochmann and performed in Beijing and Shanghai in 2016 and 2017. It was one of the first times that documentary theatre as an art form appeared in China. This chapter uses the play as an example to demonstrate how creative individuals and groups in China use intermediality and transmedia storytelling to explore critical social issues such as sexual minority rights, historical trauma, as well as inter-generational and cross-cultural communication. Assembling together photos, videos and writings surrounding the play, in tandem with interviews with the production team, this chapter argues for the positive role played by transmedia storytelling in the construction of a public sphere in China.

Citation

Bao, H. (2021). The Power of Communication: Intergeneration, Intermediality and Transculturality in Documentary Theatre About My Parents and Their Child. In F. Gilardi, & C. Lam (Eds.), Transmedia in Asia and the Pacific: Industry, Practice and Transcultural Dialogues (233-258). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7857-1_11

• Online Publication Date: May 30, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Feb 23, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 31, 2023
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Pages: 233-258
• Series Title: Palgrave Series in Asia and Pacific Studies
• Series ISSN: 2662-7922
• Book Title: Transmedia in Asia and the Pacific: Industry, Practice and Transcultural Dialogues
• Chapter Number: 11
• ISBN: 9789811578564
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7857-1_11
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5347428
• Related Public URLs: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9789811578564