A brilliant mathematician, an innocent grant, and an unfounded accusation — Professor Qiu’s world is upended when the FBI comes knocking. Inspired by real-life cases of Chinese-American scientists wrongfully accused of espionage, “QUIXOTIC PROFESSOR QIU” makes its world premiere at InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia from Jan. 31 to Feb. 23.
The play was written by Damon Chua, who has an expansive background that includes an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, a law degree from Oxford University, and published works across multiple genres.
Regarding the play’s plot, Chua explained, “Given the circumstances, given the friction between China and the U.S., and given some bad apples who really did spy for the Chinese, [Professor Qiu] was caught in this crossfire.”
“This was based on many real stories of Chinese-American scientists who have been wrongly accused of doing things that they did not do,” Chua elaborated. “This was a result of this thing called the China Initiative, which was started in 2018 by the previous Trump administration to do a witch hunt on these people that were just innocent, and yet they wanted to target these people.”
“I’m sure one part of it is xenophobia, one part of it is racism, etc. But the reality is, all these people were Americans, Chinese-Americans, so that’s a very sad thing. That’s why I wanted to write this story, to expose the injustice that had been perpetrated on these people. I think it’s appalling, and it’s a story that is needed to be told to everybody,” Chua said.
Chua also spoke about the connections this story has to current national issues and rhetoric about China in the United States, including as it pertains to the recent TikTok ban and the discourse surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This play has a lot to do with COVID, TikTok, the general mistrust of anything that appears to be Chinese,” Chua said.
Chua explained, “As the U.S. and China became more entrenched with one another economically, at the same time, the politics of it all was pulling them apart, which is kind of ironic, but that’s the reality.”
Regarding the connection to TikTok and the story of “QUIXOTIC PROFESSOR QIU,” Chua said, “I think similar questions were lobbed at [the TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew]. You know, ‘Aren’t you Chinese?” ‘No, I’m Singaporean.’ So, it doesn’t even matter. The look defines everything.”
Chua also wanted to highlight that “QUIXOTIC PROFESSOR QIU” is “a total comedy.”
“I love using lighter forms to deal with really dark topics because it’s already heavy enough, and you don’t want to be going to the theater to be lectured by people. I hate that. I go to the theater to enjoy myself. And, yes, hopefully I learn something, right?” Chua said.
Chua went on to explain that he aims to wrap a serious message up in humor to present tougher subject matter in a way that is more easily digestible.
“I’m inspired by real-life incidents, and I love doing research,” Chua said of his process. “That’s part of the joy of writing, I think. I dig into a lot of different things.”
Chua also sees a direct connection between “QUIXOTIC PROFESSOR QIU” and the LGBTQ+ community.
Chua said, “I think queerness definitely plays a role in my work generally because I’m always focused on giving voice to people who are oppressed or people who just need to be heard.”
Chua continued, “In many plays of mine, I will have queer characters. Some of them are the protagonist, some are just bit characters here and there, but I try to have a world that is representative of our world. Can you imagine a play where everybody is straight or everybody is white?”
Chua also spoke about the meaning of the title, explaining that he “wanted to emphasize the foreignness of Chinese last names,” particularly given how the last name Qiu breaks with the expectations of American English, in which ‘Q’ is nearly always followed by ‘U.’
For Chua, this title, “QUIXOTIC PROFESSOR QIU,” also relates to queerness.
“I think the queerness in this play has to do with these names, the queering of names, the othering of names, and the othering of people,” Chua said. “I think that’s part of queerness too.”
Regarding his hopes for the audience, Chua said, “I hope that first of all, they will be entertained by the situation and the comedy of the play. Most of all, I want them to start thinking about this world that they live in. There’s so much injustice, and this is just one example of injustice.”
Chua elaborated, “The reality is, all of us are sentient beings with purpose and power, however much or however little, but that does not mean that we cannot act to correct injustice. I hope that people, when they watch this play, they will be motivated, maybe just a little bit, to head in that direction.”
Chua also wanted to draw attention to the many people involved in bringing this play to life. He said the “team is wonderful. These actors that I’ve been going to rehearsals with, they are just brilliant, they are just wonderful, they are just so funny.” He also praised one teammate in particular.
“Chongren [Fan], who is the director — what a great collaborator,” Chua said. “He really knows how to make these words feel alive on stage. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by these people who not just know what they are doing but really care about what they do.”
“Ultimately, creating theater is not just one person,” Chua said. “It’s a team. It’s a collaboration, and everyone needs to do their part, and everybody is doing their part so magnificently.”
“QUIXOTIC PROFESSOR QIU” will run Jan. 31-Feb. 23 at the InterAct Theatre Company at The Proscenium Theatre, 302 S Hicks St. In addition to the performances, certain dates will be “Speaker Saturdays” or “Speaker Sundays,” on which the play will be followed by a moderated conversation with the actors, the playwright and community members. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit interacttheatre.org.