M. Butterfly was one of the most amazing performances I have ever seen. It is full of rich detail and hidden backstories, and it’s setup makes the viewer constantly question their awareness of the situation or understanding of what’s going on. One of the things I constantly found myself questioning was Song’s sexuality. He looked like a boy, and publicly he was supposed to be a boy. However, he told Gallimard that he was a female, and to be honest, I found it hard to believe that he wasn’t a female. His movements were very feminine, and his voice almost seemed to prove that he was a female (it was not deep at all!). During the beginning of the play I was actually wondering if there was a female doing a voice over with Song. There was even a scene where he stood behind a screen, with only his shadow being seen, and he was taking off his robe the way women do, daintily. He always dressed as a woman on stage and performed amazingly, and he had a cheeky, sarcastic attitude towards Gallimard which I often associate with women standing up to men. I did not want to believe that he was a man – I only truly believed him when he fully stripped in front of Gallimard.
Another part of the production I found extremely interesting was the constant connections to the opera Madame Butterfly. At the beginning of the play, Song ridiculed Gallimard for liking Madame Butterfly since it was only beautiful because the Oriental girl died for the white man: A white girl who died for a Chinese man (who obviously didn’t love her) would have just been seen as stupid. What I wasn’t expecting was that flipping this view entirely on it’s head was exactly play was about. Gallimard was constantly chasing after Song, getting inklings here and there that Song wasn’t being truthful to him (about his sexuality, or about his role in the Chinese Revolution), and yet continuing to stay unbelievably faithful to him. Song was the one who knew he was playing Gallimard like a game of chess, strategically getting closer relations with him and even moving to France with him to continue getting information for the Revolution. Song loved Gallimard, but never enough to confess the truth that he could never be with him due to his being a man. The play always interlude specific scenes with music taken from Madame Butterfly, as well as quotes from the play and certain actions as well. Throughout the play, Gallimard always called Song his “butterfly”. However, by the end of the play, the entire audience could only watch in shock as Gallimard wore the white robe of Madame Butterfly and killed himself, with Song regretful as he held Gallimard’s body in his arms.
I think it’s really interesting how you used your perspective of what is and isn’t feminine to shape how you saw the play or even to relate to the characters within the play! I loved the references to Madame Butterfly and also thought it was interesting how Song ridiculed Gallimard and scoffed at the typical story of an Asian woman having to be saved by the strong, white man. Even though it seemed like Song was playing Gallimard, it also became obvious that Song was falling deeply in love with Gallimard. He seemed to hate having to report back on Gallimard and I think those scenes where Song gets to explain his side of the story really exemplified the love the two felt for each other because they seem to want to brush over anything that isn’t part of Butterfly and Gallimard’s story.