Wu Hsing-guo (吳興國) is well-known as a maverick in Chinese opera circles.
When he set up Contemporary Legend Theater (當代傳奇劇場) in 1984 and put on its debut performance The Kingdom of Desire, adapted from William Shakespeare's Macbeth, in 1986, the performance's bold mix of Western song-and-dance, modern theater, traditional Chinese opera and the adaptation of a Western play won as much applause as criticism.
Wu proved to be way ahead of his times as the modernizing of traditional performance genres and the blending of performance styles of different cultures have since not only been widely accepted but have even become the dominant trend in performance arts in the 1990s.
Wu's later adaptation of Medea, Oresteia and King Lear have been increasingly appreciated both here and abroad.
Just as the shock value of works by Contemporary Legend Theater has depreciated, Wu, artistic director of the group, has come up with Hip Hop Comedy, a genre inspired by a folksy branch of traditional Chinese opera in which actors play with the plots of standard numbers with a modern-day twist to nonsensical humor.
A Play of Brother and Sister (兄妹串戲), the theater group's first production of the new genre, will be Wu's latest attempt at further pushing the envelope of Chinese opera.
Dai Li-wu (戴立吾) and Chian Yu-shan (錢宇珊), both in their early 20s, play the young brother and sister, who act out famous passages from altered folk legends, to pop music with hip hop rhythms, including two theme songs by popular mandarin singer Emil Chou.
The songs mirrot high school students' playful attitudes toward heroic episodes in history textbooks, mirroring the brother and sister's subversion of traditional Chinese opera numbers.
A Play of Brother and Sister remains traditional in its singing style and martial arts scenes. The most ingenious parts of its innovations are probably the costumes and props. The brother (playing the tiger-conquering folklore hero Wu Song), in a pair of converse sneakers, breaks into a vehement fight with his sister, playing his murderous nemesis (in fish-net pants and ballet shoes) is a highlight of the show.
A Play of Brother and Sister will be performed at 8pm tonight and at 3pm and 8pm tomorrow at the Red Playhouse (紅樓劇場), 10, Chengdu Rd., Taipei (台北市成都路10號), before moving to the Gang Shan Performance Hall (岡山演藝廳) and Feng Shan Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (鳳山國父紀念館演藝廳) in Kaohsiung county. For more information, call Contemporary Legend Theater at (02) 23692616.
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