《绝密：五角大楼文件之战》的话剧以真实的采访记录和文件为基础，描写了上世纪60至70年代一批记录美国卷入越南战争的国防部绝密文件被新闻界获得，在联邦法庭裁定禁止《纽约时报》发布这份文件后，《华盛顿邮报》仍坚持披露文件的故事，最终这场政府与新闻界之间关乎权利与新闻自由的争斗一直进行到了最高法院。

White House secrecy, confidential documents, national security...all exposed! The play "Top Secret: The Battle For the Pentagon Papers" centers around a historical decision during the Nixon presidency.

Performed by L.A. Theatre Works, the play zeros in on the Washington Post's decision in the 1970’s to publish a top secret study on America’s involvement in the Vietnam war. Set in editor Ben Bradlee’s living room, the drama follows a hectic day of sorting through documents, and deciding whether publishing them will violate national security. The play then ends in the courtroom, where the landmark trial unfolds.

"It’s about courage, it’s about risk-taking, it’s about decision-making," producing director of L.A. Theatre Works, Susan Albert Loewnberg said.

"I think it’s interesting today because journalism to some extent has changed. There’s much more access, there are citizen journalists, there is the instantaneous movement of information all over the world. There isn’t three months to secretly sit there and study something and decide whether it should be published or not."

On a deeper level, the drama critically examines the role of media in relation to the government, and the people's right to information.

"Top Secret"s presence in Beijing marks a growing cultural exchange between China and the West. The popularity of the play is evident in Chinese audiences - and young ones at that - who are showing an interest in American thought and history.

Ping Pong Productions, the Beijing-founded company that has brought L.A. Theatre Works to China, caters to just that.

"My company’s mission is cultural diplomacy. We use the arts to show different sides of cultures and countries that people might not know so much about. It introduces a different aspect of society to audiences," said Alison Friedman, founder of Ping Pong Productions.

"And this play ("Top Secret"), it's about the Pentagon papers. It’s about a moment in American history that frankly a lot of Americans don’t understand, let alone Chinese. It’s about issues that are relevant to America today, issues that are relevant all over today."

And it’s not just the ripening Chinese taste for western productions. Actors from the U.S. are also eager to perform here in China.

"The main reason I wanted to do it was because we were coming here, to China...To be here, especially right now is a real honor," actor Hugo Armstrong said.

The audience has interesting views on the play, especially given the historically secretive nature of the American government.

"I was affected by the pride and honor of the American journalists," said Yang Ziyun, an audience, "At the same time, I could feel their struggle...It's inspiring for Chinese journalists."

声明：音视频均来自互联网链接，仅供学习使用。本网站自身不存储、控制、修改被链接的内容。"沪江英语"高度重视知识产权保护。当如发现本网站发布的信息包含有侵犯其著作权的链接内容时，请联系我们，我们将依法采取措施移除相关内容或屏蔽相关链接。