Writer/Director: Ross Ericson
The Ballad of Mulan shares its name with a 4th/5th century Chinese poem, though the first appearance of the story is even older than that. How far we can attach the word “authentic” to Ross Ericson’s play is debatable, but it’s certainly much more real than the various Disney Princess versions.
The legend of Mulan – and opinion is divided as to whether the character existed – tells of a young woman who assumes male identity to take her sick or aged father’s place in the Imperial Army, fights with great distinction, gains high rank and after 10 years and a final successful battle returns home and again lives as a woman.
Based in Huddersfield, Red Dragonfly Productions specialises in plays with a Chinese theme, several of them, including Mulan, one-woman shows featuring the splendid Michelle Yim. This one first saw the light of day at Buxton and Edinburgh Fringes in 2019 and its length (less than an hour), simple staging and one-person cast have a decided Festival Fringe feel about them. This current tour celebrates the Chinese New Year.
The play takes place before her final battle and early scenes alternate Mulan in mighty military gear, crouching in battle, threatening with her lance, and Mulan sitting down exhausted and hungry after combat to tell us her story. The battle narration is vivid in both writing and performance and backed up by resounding percussion. Mulan’s narrative at first is believable, but fairly predictable: her reaction to the smell of soldiers, her failure to understand their dirty jokes, her limited capacity for alcohol. Between the scenes Chinese characters appear on a sheet serving as a make-do screen, no doubt quoting from the original ballad.
Everything Michelle Yim does carries conviction and both her performance and the script balance neatly between ancient China and the modern world. There is no pretentious antiquarianism, but equally no self-conscious 21st century slang. In the final section, with Yim more mobile, acting out her stories and dilemma physically, the relation of Mulan to the modern world becomes clearer. The story of her upbringing – Mulan mischievous and tomboyish, her mother wanting a respectably feminine daughter, her father tolerant of his daughter’s individuality – is always relevant, but the real question is one of identity: Mulan can go back to being herself, but who is she?
Touring nationwide
