Scenes from a Repatriation E-Book

Joël Tan

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Serie: NHB Modern Plays
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 128

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

'All of human history? It's basically people taking things from each other.' A thousand-year-old statue of the Bodhisattva Guanyin lives in the British Museum. When it emerges that the statue was stolen from its original home, the museum attempts to deflect both the public response and controversial repatriation claims from the Chinese government. As statesmen scheme and grease their palms, beneath the statue, witches dance, a cleaner prays, and spirits weep. Joel Tan's daring, shape-shifting play unfolds the statue's journey from China to Britain and back again, stirring up age-old ghosts and asking who can claim cultural artefacts – and why? Scenes from a Repatriation was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2025, directed by experimental theatre-makers emma + pj.

Leseprobe

Joel Tan

SCENES FROM A REPATRIATION

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Original Production Details

Characters

Note

Scenes from a Repatriation

Chinese Translations

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Scenes from a Repatriation premiered at the Kiln Theatre, London, on 25 April 2025. The cast was as follows:

Cast

Kaja Chan Aidan Cheng

Jon Chew Fiona Hampton

Robin Khor Yong Kuan Sky Yang

Director

emma + pj

Designer

TK Hay

Lighting Designer

Alex Fernandes

Sound Designer & Composer

Patch Middleton

Video Designer

Tyler Forward

Casting Director

Jatinder Chera

Movement Director

Ken Nakajima

Dialect & Language

Jenru Wang

Assistant Designer

Yijing Chen

Production Manager

Zara Drohan

Costume Supervisor

Ellen Rey de Castro

Company Manager

Mica Taylor

Stage Manager

Aime Neeme

Deputy Stage Manager

Daze Corder

Lighting Supervisor

Lucinda Plummer

Lighting Programmer

Philip Burke

Lead Producer

Hannah Lyall

Executive Producer

Steven Atkinson

Characters

Prologue

GROUP OF PEOPLE, Chinese

MAN, Chinese

WOMAN, Chinese

CHILD, Chinese

Part One

1.

WITCH ONE, female, any age and race

WITCH TWO, any gender, any age and race

GUARDS, any age and race

YOUNG SOLDIER, white

YOUNG WOMAN, Chinese

2.

LIM, any gender, British Chinese

CURATOR, any gender, any race

3.

PROF, any gender, white

STUDENT, any gender, mainland Chinese

4.

FIVE MUSEUM CURATORS, any race, any age

5–7.

POET, trans non-binary, British Chinese

DRAG KING, gender queer, British Chinese

CROSS TALK PERFORMER A, British Chinese

CROSS TALK PERFORMER B, British Chinese

DJ, British Chinese

VOICE 1 AND 2, any race, any age

8.

MAN, white

WOMAN, Americanised mainland Chinese

9.

CLEANER, male, any race

CONSERVATOR, any age and race

YOUNG SOLDIER, white

YOUNG WOMAN, Chinese

MAN, Hong Kong Chinese

Part Two

1.

WOMAN, mainland Chinese

MAN, mainland Chinese

2.

YOUNG MAN, mainland Chinese

WOMAN, white

MAN, mainland Chinese

3.

FRIEND, mainland Chinese

MAN, mainland Chinese

4.

YOUNG MAN, Uighur

YOUNG WOMAN, any race

POLICE

5.

STONEMASON, Chinese

MOTHER, Chinese

Note

This play surrounds a statue of the Bodhisattva Guanyin in the British Museum.

It should remain on stage throughout, though it may not be literally present in each scene. How the statue is represented is up to the production, but it should be rendered with respect.

The statue is on a plinth or dais. It is a stone statue, humanlike, child-sized or smaller. It is cast in the ‘Royal Ease’ pose, right leg hitched up, right arm resting on the right knee. The face is smiling, eyes semi-open.

(Italicized text in parentheses) are stage/performance directions. (Non-italicized text in parentheses) are to be played but not spoken.

An en dash ( – ) on a line alone indicates a beat or pause.

A forward slash ( / ) indicates an interruption by the next line.

Line breaks in the dialogue are suggestions for shifts in thought or intention, and do not indicate breaks in rhythm. In fact, where a line does not end with a period, the next line can come quickly after.

This ebook was created before the end of rehearsals and so maydiffer slightly from the play as performed.

Prologue

A burning building. Outside, the sound of men yelling.

Inside, a group of people huddle, choking, coughing, as the firecloses in. A MAN bangs against the door, hits it with a largestick. Hits it and hits it. It will not budge.

A WOMAN holds her CHILD close.

WOMAN. I love you.

CHILD. They’re not coming.

WOMAN. I love you.

CHILD. The door’s stuck.

WOMAN. I love you.

The MAN turns to look at the rest. The door will not budge.

The fire swells.

PART ONE: THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

1.

The British Museum.

Lights come up on a statue of the Bodhisattva Guanyin, sittingin the ‘Royal Ease’ pose. Eyes closed, listening, sleeping, orboth.

WITCH ONE has stopped before the statue. Something in itseems to have called to her. She cannot look away. She triesto, maybe even makes to go, but returns. She slowly sits down.Regards the statue.

WITCH ONE. I love you too.

Silence.

Oh, I…

(she’s caught by a complicated feeling, perhaps wants to cry)

(her phone beeps, she looks at it, ignores it)

(she looks around. No one)

(she opens her sack, takes out a burning bowl, a smudgestick, palo santo or sage or resins, her praxis is messy, butshe’s got a sixth sense about things)

Hello?

(no reply)

(she lights her smudge stick, it doesn’t catch)

Fuck.

(it lights)

That’s better.

Isn’t it?

–

–

–

It’s alright.

It’s time to

You can –

(she starts coughing)

Ooph, something heavy here.

You can go, you can move on.

(she coughs harder)

WITCH TWO enters, sees WITCH ONE coughing.

WITCH TWO. Babe, y’alright?

Drink some water.

WITCH ONE. Thanks.

WITCH TWO. The others are all done, getting some drinks.

You coming?

(sees the smoking bowl )

Babe you know we can’t…

(looks around, no one)

The smoke’s gonna…

WITCH ONE. I can’t stop looking at this one.

These stains.

WITCH TWO. Uh huh.

WITCH ONE. You ever think?

What’s in a stain?

WITCH TWO. Oxidation, I s’pose. Exposure.

WITCH ONE. No, man.

Where one thing meets another.

Imprints itself.

WITCH TWO. Yeah.

You sure you okay?

WITCH ONE. What do you reckon this spot here is?

This dark bit.

WITCH TWO. Blood?

WITCH ONE. I dunno. Blood, yeah.

Worse, maybe?

Soot.

–

Soot, yeah.

Fire.

–

Fire.

(shudders)

Horrible to think.

WITCH TWO. Yeah.

WITCH ONE. The heat of it.

The –

hopeless…

WITCH TWO. Cold in here.

WITCH ONE. You want to think it’s easy

y’know?

Surrendering to death.

Wanna think it’s a letting go.

But what about fire?

How do you surrender to fire?

No one surrenders to fire.

You writhe in it.

You scream, you feel it

cook you.

WITCH TWO. Fuck.

WITCH ONE. There’s no surrender with fire.

Is there?

Horrible to think someone…

Could do that to someone else.

Anyone.

–

When the fuck are we ever gonna stop

doing this shit to one another?

WITCH TWO. Let’s go, baby.

WITCH ONE. I wanna pray for this one.

One last one. Please?

WITCH TWO. Course.

They pray together.

It gets hazy from the smoking bowl.

Enter GUARD ONE.

GUARD ONE. Excuse me.

WITCH TWO. Fuck.

GUARD ONE. Sorry you can’t do that.

We’ve been watching you.

WITCH TWO. We’re done, we’re going.

Come on.

But WITCH ONE is unmoving, almost, in a trance.

GUARD ONE. We closed an eye with the dancing and the flowers

in that other room

But this smoke stuff, that’s

WITCH TWO. Just incense

GUARD ONE. You try’na set off the fire alarm?

WITCH TWO. It’s not going to set off the

GUARD ONE. Yeah, no, it’ll –

Carbon monoxide detector.

Create a whole mess.

Ruin the art.

Put it out, please, and you’ve gotta –

WITCH ONE. Quiet.

Something in her voice spooks GUARD ONE.

GUARD ONE. You’re disturbing the other –

WITCH ONE. ’S no one here.

–

GUARD ONE. Listen I’ve been watching you lot.

You can’t just –

I don’t want to have to remove you.

GUARD ONE moves to WITCH ONE, touches her on hershoulder.

WITCH TWO. Could you please not touch her.

Could you –

WITCH TWO takes out a camera and starts filming GUARD ONE. Over the following, WITCH ONE, rapt in aprayerful position, is gradually galvanised by some spectralpower.

GUARD ONE. Fuck’s sake, could you please put that –

WITCH TWO. (to the camera more than anything)

(perhaps a crowd has gathered, and this is to them too)

We’re

We’re…

We are Islington Witches for Radical Change

And we’re here to release the spirits in these objects

These / objects imprisoned here,

GUARD ONE. Guys… Guys…

WITCH TWO. against their will by the British Museum

Which is an institution of colonial violence

/ A repository of colonial violence

An archive of brutality!

GUARD ONE. (into talkie) Guys I’m gonna need some help in Hall Six

Guys, come on.

I’m going to have to escort you both out of the premises.

As GUARD ONE makes to move them.

WITCH TWO. These objects are prisoners!

The spirits within them are prisoners!

We are only here to say prayers

We are not touching the objects

We are peacefully demonstrating

Peacefully intervening…

(starts to sing a song)

We cast these spells and prayers

Words of release and worship

But the smoke alarm goes off.

This catches GUARD ONE, who was maybe lying about thesmoke detector, by surprise.

GUARD ONE. What the fuck?

Perhaps the sprinklers go off too.

Enter GUARD TWO.

GUARD TWO. What the FUCK?

The stage fills with smoke, water, wind, everything.

GUARD ONE. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

PUT THAT OUT NOW

Suddenly, WITCH ONE lets out a low, mournful sound oflament. The scene seems to freeze.

WITCH ONE. FIRE.

FIRE.

DO YOU SEE

DO YOU HEAR

CAN YOU HEAR

CAN’T YOU HEAR US?

CAN’T YOU

DON’T YOU SEE US

DON’T YOU HEAR

SMELL US

CHOKING

IN HERE

FAT BOILING

UNDER OUR SKIN

At the climax of this speech, dark figures, perhaps spirits,definitely spirits, have closed in around WITCH ONE.

FIRE.

FIRE.

Something snaps. The figures aren’t spirits, they’re GUARDS.

The GUARDS restrain the two WITCHES.

WITCH ONE has collapsed into a slump. Over thefollowing, WITCH TWO wrestles, resists, is dragged off. It’sall very awful and ugly.

WITCH TWO. Let her go!

Don’t touch her!

We are peacefully demonstrating

We are calling for the return of

of

HUMAN REMAINS

FUCK’S SAKE

HUMAN REMAINS

STOLEN –

RELIGIOUS OBJECTS

PEOPLE’S

GODS

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!

We are not resisting!

Fuck the police!

GUARD ONE. We’re not police.

WITCH TWO. FUCK THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

The WITCHES are gone.

Two GUARDS remain as the dust settles.

The alarm blares.

–

–

–

The alarm stops.

GUARD ONE. Finally.

Y’alright?

GUARD TWO. (shaken) Jesus.

GUARD ONE. Every week some new freakshow, huh?

(into talkie) Yup they’ve been removed.

Come on.

GUARD TWO. Gives me chills, this place.

GUARD ONE. Hey?

GUARD TWO. Proper chills.

GUARD ONE. Oi.

GUARD TWO. Proper fucking chills.

GUARD TWO looks at but does not see two GHOSTS,standing where the statue is: a YOUNG SOLDIER, white, innineteenth-century military uniform and, clinging, gnawing,on his leg, a YOUNG WOMAN, Chinese, in linen samfu.

The YOUNG SOLDIER lets out a mournful scream.

2.

DR LIM, British Chinese, a gutsy William Dalrymple type,appears.

LIM. This statue is, well…

In this expression, this is:

The Bodhisattva Guanyin.

Who hears the cries of all Man.

Who is mercy incarnate.

In this pose, called Royal Ease,

Guanyin sits, arm

draped over the leg, face

drowsy as if about to fall asleep,

about to enter a dream of pure

light…

Neither male, nor female.

Transcending the body.

Song Dynasty.

Twelfth century.

Think about that.

We are communing with so many dead.

–

How do we look at an object like this?

How are we meant to see?

Imagine a temple

The glow of candles.

Clouds of incense.

Imagine seeing…

how the stone almost absorbs the smoke.

As if Guanyin

inhales your prayers.

Then imagine, out of the smoke,

this face, slowly appearing…

this face

that smile,

the reassurance of it.

It knows when it says:

Everything will be alright.

Imagine being…

that close to

pure, divine, ecstasy.

So my first thought is:

why the fuck

is it overlooking the gift shop?

A snap.

Projection: ‘GIANT ASCENDING: ONE THOUSANDYEARS OF CHINESE ART AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM.’

CURATOR. (uncomfortable laugh) Well…

It’s an ‘In Conversation With: Dr Amber Lim [AnthonyLim if male], Department of Chinese Antiquities, School ofOriental and African Studies’. LIM is sitting on stage with CURATOR, who’s facilitating this talk.

LIM. That wasn’t a rhetorical / question –

CURATOR. Oh.

(laughs)

I wouldn’t say it’s overlooking the…

LIM. Best view in the house.

CURATOR. Sure.

But please, you were talking so stirringly

about the statue’s context.

LIM. Okay, its context…

CURATOR. Great.

LIM. Its current context

Is that it’s overlooking the gift shop.

CURATOR. (laughs)

LIM. One of mankind’s oldest

most profound dreams of

oceanic

motherly mercy.

Chucked.

Like some spare iPhone charger

at the bottom of your drawer.

CURATOR. Now as much as we love your famous digressions –

LIM. I think most Chinese people growing up in this country, can relate to that precise

bottom-of-the-drawer feeling.

That’s all I ever think about when I look at her.

Have done, ever since I first came here as a kid.

So when I saw that video with those two witches…

CURATOR. Let’s get back to / the uh, the

LIM. And there she was, right in the middle / of it all.

CURATOR. to the art!

LIM. Almost like she wanted us to…

CURATOR. The art, / Dr Lim.

LIM. to look a little deeper, look a little more –

CURATOR. My friend, we’re short on time, so maybe let’s dwell a little bit, on the workmanship,

which earlier you’ve given me cause to believe is rather special.

–

LIM. Chinese records really only describe

a handful of such castings,

especially in stone, not wood,

which is customary.

This stone was harvested from seaside cliffs.

Most of these stone Guanyins

Would’ve been famous.

They lived in palaces.

In the most sacred temples.

CURATOR. That’s gorgeous.

LIM. So I guess the question I’m skirting around

CURATOR. Yes

LIM. Is how the hell did she get here?

CURATOR. Well, on the plinth here, we’ll see it says

‘Made out as a gift

To the Museum in 1917

By CT Loo’

LIM. I know. And that’s literally all the Museum has on it.

CURATOR. (laughs) This was 1917, the bookkeeping was a fair bit more… laissez-faire back then, let’s say, though CT Loo of course was a major dealer of Chinese antiquities,

to whom we owe the survival of / several works of –

LIM. The man was practically a grave-robber.

With men like that

the paper trail always turns up something disturbing.

If you choose to look,

which ostensibly this museum never did.

CURATOR. (surprised laugh)

LIM. See the good thing about Loo is he kept

meticulous receipts

in an archive in Paris.

I went. And I dug.

Took days but I found his logbook.

Inside a rusted box,

thick with almost a hundred years of dust.

Handwritten records,

all in Chinese, of course,

which is maybe why none of this stuff has ever (surfaced)…

CURATOR. Stuff like

LIM. For example, that Loo buys this statue in 1910,

from a Scottish guy called Charles Baker.

In his old age, Baker ran an Irish pub in Shanghai.

LIM flashes a photo on the screen, a black-and-white shot ofthe statue. It’s sitting on a mantle in an old-timey Irish pubsurrounded by casks, bottles, and other pub paraphernalia.

CURATOR. My god.

LIM. Before Shanghai, Baker had spent

the last decades of the nineteenth century in Hong Kong.

Now, what business could a man like Baker have had there?

–

CURATOR. Was he a merchant?

LIM. But where would he have

acquired this exceedingly rare

twelfth-century devotional object?

CURATOR. Pirates.

You might as well just (tell us) –

LIM. Baker was a soldier.

based at the first British Garrison in Hong Kong.

Before that, he’d been a rifleman with the

British Infantry in the 1850s.

–

CURATOR. Which regiment?

LIM. Third.

CURATOR.…

LIM. Which of course we know

had been deployed to China

during the Second Opium War.

What’s crucial is that the Third British Infantry

as we know,

had marched on Yuanmingyuan