Search results
Chimerica is a neologism and portmanteau coined by Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick describing the symbiotic relationship between China and the United States, with incidental reference to the legendary chimera.
A drama based on a play by Lucy Kirkwood, starring Alessandro Nivola and Cherry Jones. It follows a photojournalist's quest to find the "Tank Man" who defied the Chinese authorities in 1989.
- (566)
- 2019-04-17
- Drama
- 47
Chimerica is a Channel 4 four-part drama that aired in April 2019, based on the play of the same name by Lucy Kirkwood.
- Drama Mystery
- Development
- Synopsis
- Characters
- Production History
- Reception
Playwright Lucy Kirkwood was commissioned to write the play that would become Chimericain 2006, seven years before it eventually premiered. The title of the play comes from the portmanteau Chimerica, coined by Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick, referring to the significance of the sociopolitical relationship between China and America, especially...
Chimerica follows photojournalist Joe Schofield, who photographed the unidentified Tank Man during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Twenty years later, Chinese dissident and ESL teacher Zhang Lin, who was present during the 1989 pro-democracy protests and subsequent massacre, assists Joe in his quest to find Tank Man. Zhang Lin's fi...
Joe Schofield, an American photojournalistFrank Hadley, Joe's editorMel Stanwick, a journalistTessa Kendrick, a market analystPremiere
Chimerica premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London from 20 May 2013 to 6 July 2013, in a production co-produced with Headlong before transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre. The production was directed by Lyndsey Turner with stage design by Es Devlin.
Subsequent productions
In September 2015, Chimerica was performed for the first time in the United States. The production was directed by David Muse at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., Rob Yangplayed Zhang Lin opposite Ron Menzel's Joe Schofield. Chimerica made its Canadian premiere at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre in 2016. The production was directed by Chris Abraham and starred Evan Buliung as Joe and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Zhang Lin. Filmmaker Deco Dawson provided video which was projected during the perfo...
Adaptations
In 2019, Channel 4 released a four-part drama called Chimerica inspired by the play. The adaptation was penned by Lucy Kirkwood who made several changes from the original script including changing the setting from 2012 to 2016. The main character in the series is called Lee Berger and is played by Alessandro Nivola.
The play as a whole has been criticized for its ambitious runtime of over three hours. The Almeida production was described in one reviewas "fluent and seductive", with a "filmic quality", with the multiple set changes well-handled. The premiere was well received and garnered many awards. In September 2019, The Guardianwriters listed it as the 10th...
May 23, 2019 · It looks back 30 years to the Tiananmen Square massacre, and as the recent tributes to Bob Hawke made clear, the emotional impact of those events are still being felt today. The story follows ...
- Anthony Morris
After almost two months of student-led protests, tanks roll into the square and massacre innocent demonstrators. Capturing it on camera is Joe, a young American photojournalist who has a prime view of the violence from his hotel window.
May 14, 2019 · The trade war is taking direct aim at Chimerica. New tariffs, if they stick, threaten to cut off a big market for many Chinese companies. President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China in ...
