GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN THE ANGLOPHONE WHITE SNAKE WORLDS

This chapter considers selective Anglophone White Snake works from the mid-nineteenth century to the present with a focus on gender and sexual transformations in and outside the performances. It first outlines the British connections, from when the White Snake legend was summarised in anthologies introducing practical knowledge to its presentation as part of China's great literary tradition. It then summarises the American connections, from the first Chinese-American activist's rendition to a female-centred stage production in the twenty-first century. The chapter takes a closer look at Anglophone White Snake productions in contemporary Malaysia and Singapore, featuring the much-overlooked 1977 production of Lady White in Kuala Lumpur, where philosophical and poetic musings enrich gender and sexual representations; and the 2020 streaming of Mama White Snake by Wild Rice theatre company, where Peking opera and pantomime join hands in representing gender and sexuality in a festive comedy suitable for a multi-ethnic Singapore.