WHITE STORYTELLER
The Party Theater Group (Taipei)
Schedule
European Premiere
How does one talk about family tragedy, about injury that has been passed on for generations? The WHITE STORYTELLER contemplates the history of his Taiwanese homeland through the prism of his family history, recounting the White Terror and the political persecution of civilians under Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang regime during the 1950s, as well as treason – and how embitterment can turn to forgiveness.
The conflicts with which he must deal spring to life via the interpretative gaze of the traditional Chinese hand puppet theatre that plays such a prominent role in the protagonist’s childhood memories. Before the backdrop of full-scale Chinese paper burial objects representing his grandfather’s furniture, the narrator starts tracing his family secret.
In the combination of performance and visual art, puppet theatre and multimedia, the reality of the story told will be superimposed with surreal and magical elements. This creates stacked levels of meaning that leave spaces for interpretation. Accompanied by a soundtrack that oscillates between the shrill sounds of traditional puppet theatre music and reduced instrumental pieces, an evening of haunting melancholia ensues.
Biography
Set up in 2001, the experimental productions by Taipei’s Party Theater Group regularly deal with marginalised topics. In the interplay between actors, puppets, masks, and multimedia techniques, the collective bridges various theatre traditions and innovative theatre craft.
Chun-Fang Tai has been the Guo-Guang Opera Company’s resident director in Taipei, Taiwan, since 2017. She founded her own theatre group 1/2Q that brings together Kunqu, dance, and visual arts, in 2004.
An-Chen Chiu is the artistic director at the Party Theater Group. He graduated from the Actors Studio Drama School in New York City and has been active as an actor and playwright for almost 30 years now.
Jung-Chang Wu is the director of the Hongwanran Classic Puppet Theatre troupe in Taipei, Taiwan. He learned traditional Taiwanese hand puppetry with puppet master Hsi-Huang Chen and is active as an instructor in schools and workshops.
Wu-Shan Huang is the founder of Taipei, Taiwan’s, Shan Puppet Theatre, and is considered among the most talented performers of his generation in the genre of traditional Taiwanese puppet theatre. As a member of the I-Wan Kan Puppet Theater troupe, he visited Europe, Asia, and the United States during tours.
Cast
Direction Chun-Fang Tai Playwright Jie Zhan Performance An-Chen Chiu Puppetry Jung-Chang Wu | Wu-Shan Huang Stage Direction Yu-Wen Huang Stage Decoration Lin Shi-Run | Yu-Han Chao Lighting Design Chin-Ting Lan Technical Direction Po-Han Lee Assistant Direction Wan-Ning Lee Art Administration Ming-Ta Du
Info
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Production & Realization
Supported by GuoGuang Opera Company, Taiwan
Funded by National Culture and Arts Foundation | Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government | Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture
Funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation | Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media
