Han Pengyi as Wang Cai and Liu Xiaoye as Lai Fu in the National Theatre of China’s Two Dogs’ Opinions on Life.Kicking off the Kennedy Center’s CHINA: The Art of a Nation series, Two Dogs’ Opinions on Life is a laugh riotif you speak Chinese. Luckily for the rest of us, the actors carry off the difficult task of parodying Chinese life in slapstick, farce, and sound effects everyone can understand.
Hailing from the National Theatre of China, Liu Xiaoye and Han Pengyi play Lai Fu and Wang Cai, two country dogs out to sniff out new lives in the city. They meet each other along the way and decide that they are brothers. They become rich by being adopted by Westerners, get thrown in jail for not having the proper dog license, become security guards, try to rob a bank, and ultimately return, tails metaphorically between legs.
But the plot is just window-dressing; this is an improvisational comedy, full of parody, slapstick, and audience harassment. The stage, aside from the musicians, is spare, with a few tires to sit on, a doorframe, and two backdrops that shift to denote “city” and “countryside.” The whole story is spun from Han’s and Liu’s hands, words, and songs. Upon arriving at the city, the dogs sing together, describing the scene, the people, the horrible traffic, making easy-to-get jokes every fourth line. And the connection between Han (the “younger brother”) and Liu (the “older brother”) is tight and clear. Every time Liu pretends to read to Han his mother’s letter, Han goes down to the floor saying “Momma!” and hangs on Liu’s ever word. When the actors go off script, anything goes. When begging for money in the city streets, they ask for donations, but, when no one in the audience says anything, Han and Liu shook down the businessman in the front row, even going through his pockets and taking his keys.
Going off script and bantering at the speed of sound make for a great comedy show but limit the laughs to the native speakers. The subtitle-progresser can hardly be blamed for being unable to keep up with the actors, but when half a scene goes by without any English translation, it gets a little frustrating. Still, the actors do their best to make themselves understood. Pantomime and tone of voice can go a long way, and Han and Liu are clearly pros at these.
The Kennedy Center aims to bring the art and culture of China to our doorstep in this and several other productions on offer until October 2. Hopefully, the rest of the shows will be as entertaining (but not as frustrating) as Two Dogs’.
Two Dogs’ Opinions on Life runs only until tonight, September 21, at 7:30pm at the Kennedy Center. Tickets are available online. Further information about the CHINA: The Art of a Nation series is available also at the Kennedy Center’s website.
