Ping Chong's exciting new anthology, The East/West Quartet, consists of four multimedia plays about the history of East -West relations. The first, Deshima (1990) focuses on Japan's relationships with the West, Western and Japanese colonialism, and the collision of different cultures. Utilizing the visual arts-the influence of Japanese wood cuts on Van Gogh painting style-as a framework, Chong examines the changes in Japan's political and economic power in relation to European countries. The three other "poetic documentary" pieces in this anthology are Chinoiserie (1995) that explores Chinese history, After Sorrow (1997) examining Vietnamese history and Pojagi (1999) that focuses on Korean history. Each play combines speech, movement, and dance to explore how European, Japanese and American colonization, invasions, and the economic and political restructuring of the postcolonial period have impacted these countries. In each of these plays Ping Chong's skillful, eloquent multimedia expression brings to life the racism, violence and inhumanity that have accompanied the history of colonialism and the globalization of the world economy. The four plays in this anthology provide vehicles to entertain and enlighten audiences on these critical areas of our emerging century.