Review Fix Exclusive: Inside TIANANMEN REQUIEM

Review Fix chats with Tiananmen Requiem playwright who (prefers to remain anonymous) discusses this powerful new production.

About TIANANMEN REQUIEM:

March 10 – 27 at The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal St, NYC, is already the subject of controversy.

An all Asian cast brings to life a deeply moving tale of a young gay couple trying to survive the Tiananmen Square crackdown and how their daughter – more than a decade later – is attempting to uncover one of her parents’ secret ties to the Chinese military during the massacre. This tragic love story set against the backdrop of the Tiananmen Square Massacre displays the brutality of this terrible moment in history.

TIANANMEN REQUIEM has had its share of obstacles already. This play – one that the Chinese government doesn’t want you to see – lost its director, cast members, and even one of its producers before reaching first rehearsal. Many simply quit without offering a reason. Even a university professor, a mentor to the playwright, refused to be involved – even as dramaturg. Finally now, a company has been gathered for what is likely to be a very important and historic piece of art.

Director Dennis Yueh Yeh Li has assembled a talented and valiant group of actors including Charles Pang & Michael Benzinger; with Karina Wen and Joyce Keokham.

Review Fix: What inspired you to tell your story as a play?

My family left China because of religious repression. My parents and my grandparents are Christians, and both of my grandfathers went to prison because of their religion. My parents left China on student visas to Germany, and in the summer of 1989, when I was a little child, my paternal grandfather planned to get me out of China so I could be reunited with my parents. But in the early summer of 1989, the Tiananmen Square massacre occurred, preventing us from leaving the country. My uncle who was a student at the time was actually in Tiananmen three days after the massacre and witnessed the aftermath. So this event has been part of our family’s consciousness.

Review Fix: How does your family feel about this project and its dangers – to them and to you?

They are in secret quite supportive, which I’m very grateful for. Despite the dangers, they want this story to be told. But my father is also very nervous about the potential implications with the Chinese government.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

A love story against the backdrop of Tiananmen has been on my mind since I was a child. Scenes started to form early in my life and made me wake up at night.Then, during the pandemic, the characters suddenly came together and the play finally poured out of me like a fountain.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

It takes sacrifice to make art. Writing a play that’s absolutely forbidden in China and that can cause serious issues for my family in China is the price for art.

Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production?

This play was written bilingually, so I hope that not only will Americans see it, but one day, I hope Chinese people all over the world will have the freedom to see it.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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