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The Forbidden Phoenix by Marty Chan

A New Martial Arts Musical Opens in Toronto

Feb 2, 2009 Y F Chin

Forbidden Phoenix at LKTYP explores racism and the lives of early Chinese immigrants during the building of the Canadian railroad.

The Forbidden Phoenix is a unique new play fusing martial arts, Peking Opera and Western musical theatre. Playwright Marty Chan says his play is loosely based on the struggles of Chinese immigrants in Canada in the late 19th Century.

"A theatre company in Nanaimo, B.C. commissioned me to write a play about their Chinatown, which burned down in 1960. As I researched the play, I came across the sad story of the 'Bachelor Men,' the early Chinese immigrants who came to Canada to help build the railroad, but were charged a head tax if they wanted to bring their wives and children to this country," says Chan.

"The Chinese were the only immigrant group which was charged the head tax. Many of the men couldn’t afford to bring their families to Canada and lived apart from their families for the rest of their lives. I thought this was a horrible social injustice, and I was appalled that so few people knew about it."

Monkey King

Chan believed the story of the Bachelor Men needed to be told, but he struggled to find the right way until he decided to use a well-known Chinese fable. "The Monkey King (Sun Wukong) is a trickster figure in Chinese mythology. Half-man, half-monkey, this anti-hero is a staple of Chinese fables and Chinese opera. He is forever getting on the bad side of Chinese gods, who want to punish him. He grows arrogant with his power, and is ultimately humbled when he tries to go against Buddha," he says.

"In The Forbidden Phoenix, I re-envision the Monkey King just as I re-envision Canadian history. In my story, he’s a father with no special powers other than his martial arts skills, but he is still a trickster who can outwit others."

Martial Arts Peking Opera Musical

To bring Forbidden Phoenix to life, Chan used a fusion of cultu martial arts with Peking Opera and western musical theatre. "Because I was borrowing the Monkey King character, who was an icon in Chinese opera, I thought I might as well set the style of the piece in Peking opera as well. I also thought that Canada is a fusion of many different cultures, so why not try to fuse Chinese opera and western musical theatre. My hope is that this kind of cultural fusion will only be the first of many experiments," he says.

But Chan's biggest hope is that people walk away with a sense of outrage at the injustice done to Sun Wukong and inspire them to learn more about what happened to the real Bachelor Men.

The Forbidden Phoenix runs from February 2 to March 11, 2009 at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People in Toronto.

Forbidden Phoenix is written by Marty Chan (book and lyrics) and Robert Walsh (lyrics and music).

The copyright of the article The Forbidden Phoenix by Marty Chan in Musical Theatre is owned by Y F Chin. Permission to republish The Forbidden Phoenix by Marty Chan in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.