The incredibly talented Manchester-based writer, performer and director, Jude Christian returns to the Royal Exchange Theatre with her very own one-woman show, Nanjing later this month.
A thought-provoking piece about identity and national values in a political climate dominated by Brexit, Trump and the Windrush scandal, it creates an open dialogue about flawed heroes, identity, and the consequences of war.
Directed by Elayce Ismail and written and performed by Jude Christian, the play is a personal response to the Nanjing Massacre of 1937, frequently referred to as the Rape of Nanking. Incorporating globe-spanning testimonies and historical accounts, Nanjing is about the impulse to reek revenge, and whether that impulse is a useful one, or a rejection of responsibility open only to a few.
A famous pacifist once said: ‘We must teach ourselves to make the same sacrifices for the business of peace that we make unquestioningly for the business of war’.
Simultaneously delicate and epic, this poignant direct address explores what it means to be mixed-race, and how it feels to belong both anywhere and nowhere. In an explosive time for political discourse around the world, Nanjing excavates what it is to love one another while fighting hatred, and how we can make sacrifices for pacifism.
This production runs from 27 February – 2 March in The Studio before transferring to Birmingham from 13 – 16 March.
