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Snow In Midsummer
Men in this town were born with mouths that can right wrongs with a few words. Why are you too timid to speak?
As she is about to be executed for a murder she didn't commit, young widow Dou Yi vows that, if she is innocent, snow will fall in midsummer and a catastrophic drought will strike.
Three years later, a businesswoman visits the parched, locust-plagued town to take over an ailing factory. When her young daughter is tormented by an angry ghost, the new factory owner must expose the injustices Dou Yi suffered before the curse destroys every living thing.
A contemporary re-imagining by acclaimed playwright Frances-Ya Chu Cowhig of one of the most famous classical Chinese dramas, which breathes new life into this ancient story, haunted by centuries of retelling.
The world premiere of Snow in Midsummer on 23 February 2017 at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, launched the RSC's Chinese Translations Project, a cultural exchange bringing Chinese classics to a contemporary Western audience.
As she is about to be executed for a murder she didn't commit, young widow Dou Yi vows that, if she is innocent, snow will fall in midsummer and a catastrophic drought will strike.
Three years later, a businesswoman visits the parched, locust-plagued town to take over an ailing factory. When her young daughter is tormented by an angry ghost, the new factory owner must expose the injustices Dou Yi suffered before the curse destroys every living thing.
A contemporary re-imagining by acclaimed playwright Frances-Ya Chu Cowhig of one of the most famous classical Chinese dramas, which breathes new life into this ancient story, haunted by centuries of retelling.
The world premiere of Snow in Midsummer on 23 February 2017 at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, launched the RSC's Chinese Translations Project, a cultural exchange bringing Chinese classics to a contemporary Western audience.
114 pages, Paperback
Published February 23, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 18, 2023
it was okay. had to read for dram 200
December 31, 2017
Guan Hanquing's most popular work, "Snow in Midsummer" depicts the unjust execution and subsequent avenging of Dou E, a virtuous young woman who is promised to be the bride of Mistress Cai's son in order to pay off her father Dou Tianzhang's debt, which he incurred while studying to become a government official.
Years later, Dou E's husband has died, and she remains with Mistress Cai in the latter's old age. A somewhat convoluted series of evens leads to Dou E being falsely accused of murder. Dou E pronounces that three mystical signs will accompany her unjust execution, including the seemingly impossible appearance of snow in the middle of summer.
Three more years later, Dou E's father, now a senior member of the government with considerable executive power, is visited by the ghost of his daughter. Dou E's spectre urges her father to deal justice to the magistrate and false accuser who caused her death. Dou Tianzhang avenges his daughter, demonstrating the superiority of justice and virtue over injustice and wickedness.
Hanquing's text is amusing to the modern Western ear due to its use of repetition (several key dramatic moments are interrupted with characters giving a narration of the play's events up to that point, for instance), but the themes that he grapples with--justice vs. injustice, traditional virtue vs. the pressure to compromise one's values, and the power of an individual vs. the power of society--are as timely as they were when Hanquing wrote his play roughly seven centuries ago.
Years later, Dou E's husband has died, and she remains with Mistress Cai in the latter's old age. A somewhat convoluted series of evens leads to Dou E being falsely accused of murder. Dou E pronounces that three mystical signs will accompany her unjust execution, including the seemingly impossible appearance of snow in the middle of summer.
Three more years later, Dou E's father, now a senior member of the government with considerable executive power, is visited by the ghost of his daughter. Dou E's spectre urges her father to deal justice to the magistrate and false accuser who caused her death. Dou Tianzhang avenges his daughter, demonstrating the superiority of justice and virtue over injustice and wickedness.
Hanquing's text is amusing to the modern Western ear due to its use of repetition (several key dramatic moments are interrupted with characters giving a narration of the play's events up to that point, for instance), but the themes that he grapples with--justice vs. injustice, traditional virtue vs. the pressure to compromise one's values, and the power of an individual vs. the power of society--are as timely as they were when Hanquing wrote his play roughly seven centuries ago.
March 18, 2024
I read this for work, and came away significantly more impressed than that task should otherwise have left me, particularly given some of the other plays I had to read. Extremely looking forward to seeing it mounted later this summer. Updating a classic story is always a challenge and I think Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig does a remarkable job with The Injustice to Dou E, weaving in modern themes and considerations to present the story to fresh new audiences. I won't pretend to be geopolitically savvy enough to say I understood every cultural nuance, but the broader themes of family, responsibility, and justice are universal enough to appeal to anyone.
March 10, 2017
I saw this as an amazing production at the RSC in Stratford so I bought the play to read. It's a modern retelling of a classic Chinese story, about a ghost who will not rest until she is avenged. In life she was a widow who was wrongfully executed and she has cursed the town where she lives so there has been no rain for three years. This is an interesting, gritty play; dramatically exciting and full of tension. I loved the mixture of the modern language and the classical story.
November 8, 2022
I loved how this play takes an ancient text, modernizes it, but also maintains its epic proportions! I'm often not the biggest fan of of adapted classical work, since I find its allusion to the original text can make it seem heavy-handed or distanced. Though the characters spoke in a slightly heightened dialogue, I was gripped enough that I still felt very close with them. This play is an absolute thrill and spectacle. I wish I could see it--the visuals would be incredible if handled well.
August 17, 2018
Adaptation of a 13th century Chinese play. The widow Dou Yi was unjustly executed. Her ghost will cause her town to suffer a three-year drought until justice is done. Frances Ya-chu Cowhig has made some changes to the original story. In any case, I’m not sure what it all means for a contemporary reader or audience. I'm still mulling it over.
February 5, 2023
This had a lot of potential and, since it's essentially a script, perhaps it is far more emotional when played out upon a stage. At its core, though, it was just too overflowing with plot conveniences for me to enjoy it.
June 24, 2018
This definitely got me interested into this form of theatre and would love to see this play performed live in order to get the full impact.
September 7, 2021
read as i'm a part of the school production for this play!! super excited bc this was Fantastic
November 3, 2021
This is a fucking masterpiece. This is what Somewhere could have been, down to the deep embrace of tradition and myth, but wasn't. Like a modern Shakespearean tragedy.
July 24, 2022
Nice ghost story & I really enjoyed the retelling of an ancient tale, but ultimately felt muddled in allegory.
August 24, 2024
I saw the play at the Shaw Festival and loved it. Reading it was great as I enjoyed comparing the stage notes to the actual show.
June 29, 2025
What a drama infused and tragic story.
January 30, 2023
"That is my heart.
It should beat inside me."
I am stage managing this! It bangs!
It should beat inside me."
I am stage managing this! It bangs!
February 19, 2021
Those visual possibilities though!
June 29, 2023
Read for Pre-Modern Theatre History.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews