2014 TIFA 台灣國際藝術節 Taiwan International Festival of Arts

Re-presenting literary classic through a youthful perspective

Romance of Da Guan Garden re-appears in the Kun opera style

Romance of the Red Chamber is Work No. 8 of 1/2 Q Theatre. Based on the classic novel Hongluomeng (Dream of the Red Chamber) and Hongluomeng xiqu ji (Collection of plays on Dream of the Red Chamber), director TAI Chun-fang collaborates with playwrights SHEN Hui-ju and CHU Chieh-nung, trying to re-present the awareness of youth in Da Guan Garden. YANG Hanru, acclaimed by PAI Hsien-yung as “the best sheng (young male character) of Kun opera in Taiwan”, plays the role of JAI Bao-yu; LING Jia-ling from the Guoguang Opera Company plays LIN Dai-yu; and outstanding Kun opera actress HSIEH Li-ying plays XUE Bao-chai. Particularly, LEE Yi-hsiu, active both in modern theater and traditional nanguan opera, will play the role of “Stone”, the alter ego of JIA Bao-yu, who re-explores the journey into the world of mortals from the hindsight perspective.

For generations, readers believe and therefore feel sorry that Dream of the Red Chamber is never finished. However, the unfinished Dream of the Red Chamber not only leaves room for us to imagine it, to interpret it and to complete it, but also symbolizes the life, that is full of joys and sorrows, has yet come to an end…

Willow Dreams of Plum, the first work of 1/2 Q Theatre, impresses audiences with the combination of installation arts and traditional Kun opera, and wins the nomination for the Taishin Arts Award. Later, it is invited to take part in the NTCH Innovation Series, Eslite Theater Festival, Taiwan Arts Festival in Hong Kong and Maison des Cultures du Monde in France, and has been highly praised. 1/2 Q Theatre has been nominated for the Taishin Arts Award four times, and wins the Jury’s Special Award for it’s The Legend of Peach Blossom Rain in 2013. Its works reach across borders of traditional opera, modern theater and visual arts, demonstrating its ambition to bring new life into the art form of Kun opera.