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Left of center theater for cartographers

The Rive-Gauche Theatre Group performs a Mandarin-language version of Japanese novelist, Abe Kobo's surreal mini-mystery, The Ruined Map, at the Experimental Theatre this weekend. PHOTO: COURTESY OF CKS CULTURAL CENTER

"A single map is all you need. You should go only through places where everyone goes, places that are considered absolutely safe."

Sound advice if you want to live a dull life, but then, as indicated in The Ruined Map, from which the quote has been lifted, even a map does not guarantee you won't get lost. In fact, searching for a precise map to guide you through life is futile, because no such map exists and trying to design one is foolish.

As part of the 2004 International Theatre Festival, the Rive-Gauche Theatre Group (安部公房 -- 燃燒的地圖) examines the loss of orientation and identity in its Mandarin-language theater adaptation of Abe Kobo's The Ruined Map.

"I wanted to do something about disappearance, feeling lost even when you are surrounded by people," said Rive-Gauche director Li Huan-hsiung (黎煥雄). Formed in 1985, the Rive-Gauche

Theatre Group's earlier productions were concerned with "the real identity of Taiwan."

Producing theater adaptations of Taiwanese authors, Rive-Gauche has often performed works of epic proportions, such as Remembrance of the Departure at the Time of Crossing the Sea, which analyzed how contemporary life in Taiwan was shaped by historical events, such as the Japanese occupation and the 228 Incident.

Performance notes Where: Experimental Theatre, National Theatre and Concert Hall, 21-1 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei (台北市中山南路21-1號). When: Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm with Saturday and Sunday matinee performances at 2:30pm. Cost: NT$600, available from CKS Cultural Center Box Office

During the mid-90s the company underwent major internal changes with several members leaving the troupe. The result was a shift from drama that focused on societal issues particular to Taiwan, to more generalized philosophical subject matter.

In its reworking of the contemporary Japanese novel, Rive-Gauche examines on stage the relationship between the individual and society. Although the story in the novel takes place in the late 1960s, Li said he opted for a more ambiguous set and costume design, using both futuristic and modern day clothing trends, to illustrate how the subject matter is not restricted to any particular time or place. He further seeks to create a sense of social disorientation by including Japanese in the script, thereby, highlighting a certain strangeness -- similar to something you might feel when you are in a foreign place and don't understand the language, he explained.

The story, which is best likened to a Twilight Zone mystery with existential undertones, follows a private detective who has been hired by a young woman to find her missing husband. With only one clue and an incomplete map suggesting where the missing person is believed to have met a friend, the investigator sets off in search of one man's identity only to lose his own in the process.

The ruined map has both a literal and symbolic meaning. For the detective, the map is incomplete and so he literally gets lost in the city. Symbolically, in terms of humanity, there is no complete map and individuals have only trial and error to guide them through life.

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