The play is inspired by the real story of the French diplomate Bernard Bouriscot and of Shi Pei Pu, a primadona at the Peking Opera, his 20 years lover and the supposed mother of his children.
In 1986, a court in France accused and convicted this eccentric couple for spying for China.
In an unforgettable scene, Bouriscot found out the real identity of the primadona: in reality, Shi Pei Pu was a man.. He was so shocked that he wanted to commit suicide.
When the play was published, many criticised “M…. Butterfly” because it perpetuates the stereotype of the Asiatic effeminate man. Actually, the Asiatic actor plays only two acts of the play dressed as a woman, I’d like to think that the play explains rather well what means to be a woman and what means to be a man. This dispute has far more profound explanations than a man getting dresses in women’s clothes. I wonder if, by combining fantasy and reality, it is really possible to see the truth within a culture, within someone we love or even within ourselves. Will we be chained forever within our subjectivity and forced to understand everything trrough our prejudices ?

H.D.Hwang