31 Asian American Plays in 31 Days
#6 BONDAGE by David Hwang
Something offbeat for the weekend. BONDAGE moves away from DHH’s earlier exploration of immigrant, diasporia concerns and into more general ruminating about ethnic identity in general. This presages David’s later ideas about the mutability of American ethnic identity that he develops further in YELLOWFACE and uses a great deal in KUNG FU. And given the ongoing (and interminable) debate about the AF/WM/AM/WF qudrangle, there’s something very much relevant here.
In BONDAGE, a female dominatrix portrays various races, including Caucasian, Asian, and African American, as does her male client. Because both wears masks and are entirely clothed in leather, race and skin tone are not revealed to the audience until the end.
Actors Theatre of Louisville, 1992, directed by Oskar Eustis, Cast: B. D. Wong and Kathryn Lang. Having produced this play in the past, I can assure you there is great fun to be had by all in procuring props and costumes for this show.
(Photo taken from the Yale Cabaret production)
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