Empress of China

Travel back in time to the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, to the reign of the Dowager Empress Tzu-hsi, the woman who takes destiny into her own hands and rises from concubine to become absolute ruler sitting on the Dragon Throne. Allowing nothing to stand in her way, Tzu-hsi manipulates the itinerant actor, Shen Tai; banishes the revolutionary tutor, Kang Yu-Wei; and finally forces her nephew, Emperor Kuang-Hsu, to relinquish his throne in her favor. Set behind the walls of the Forbidden City, see how the “Dragon Empress,” convinced that only she can preserve China’s past and forge its future, faces the forces of the modern world which eventually bring the Ch’ing Dynasty to an end.

Pan Asian Repertory presents Empress of China.