Taiwanese theater troupe "Shakespeare's Wild Sisters Group" will put on its latest modern play, "Dear Life," at the Paris Autumn Festival (Festival d'Automne à Paris) in France from Thursday (Nov. 28) through Saturday (Nov. 30).
According to a press release by the Ministry of Culture (MOC) on Wednesday (Nov. 27), Shakespeare's Wild Sisters Group will share its culture-rich theatrical work with European audiences at the 2019 Paris Autumn Festival. This is also the first time a modern Taiwanese play has been invited to the multidisciplinary contemporary arts festival.
"Dear Life," which premiered at the Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA) in 2018, consists of four different stories, each told in a 30-minute segment. The play was written and directed by Taiwanese playwright Wang Chia-ming (王嘉明) and is roughly based on Canadian author Alice Munro's novel of the same name, reported CNA.
Wang made slight alternations to the original stories while inserting various Taiwanese elements, such as a tongji, a spirit medium in folk religion, and Taoyuan Bade Pond Ecological Park. The artistic director of the Paris Autumn Festival, Marie Collin, first saw "Dear Life" at the TIFA and was touched by the actors' delivery despite the language barrier.
Wang said that the performance would showcase true Taiwanese authenticity through well-designed stage props, including tin houses, clothes hangers, plastic stools, and other daily objects prevalent in Taiwanese society. Shakespeare's Wild Sisters Group will also perform "Dear Life" at the Le phénix scène nationale Valenciennes next Wednesday (Dec. 4).
Source：Taiwan News
