M. Butterfly is set in several different places and time periods. It begins in the present, in Gallimard's prison cell in Paris. As Gallimard tells his story, the scene shifts to Beijing, China, during the decade from 1960 to 1970. Scenes are set in the German Ambassador's house, French Embassy, the French Ambassador's residence, Gallimard's apartment, Song's apartment, a Chinese opera house, and the streets of Beijing. One scene flashes back to Gallimard's schooldays in Aix-en-Provence, France, in 1947. Later scenes take place in Paris from 1966 to 1968, and in a courthouse in Paris in 1986.
As the play begins, and before a word is spoken, the playwright employs a technique known as foreshadowing, which is the presentation of an action, image, or symbol that anticipates a theme or event later.....
