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Assignment Theater takes a look at the scars left by violent change

The Assignment Theater Festival Season is hard-hitting stuff. PHOTO COURTESY OF ASSIGNMENT THEATER

Founded in 1996 by poet/theater director Chung Chiao (鍾喬), Assignment Theater (差事劇團) has gained a reputation as one of Taiwan's foremost socially aware groups. They use contemporary theater to make critical observations on political and social issues.

Among the Forgotten (這個世界遺忘的事) is its latest attempt to reflect on the underprivileged and the violent historical scars that are conveniently forgotten by society. The concept revolves around four pieces by four artists employing multiple perspectives and methods to express views on social phenomena and individual experiences.

"My piece Fake (雲或者海鷗的詭計) is built around my personal fear and concerns about news of domestic violence and social brutality you see on TV and in the newspapers everyday," one of the directors Yao Li-qun (姚立群) said, "However, during the creative process, the concreteness of these social events gradually faded away. And I found myself in search of a reconciliation with myself, a personal requiem if you will."

In Fake, Yao creates a silent world with violence and pain, in which a symbolic wound in our collective memory is magnified. The intensity of the performance and music force the audience to make choices: run away or stay and make their own conclusions.

Takdir (印記) is a solo modern dance piece by Lin Mei-ji (林美伎), who has been trained in Nanguan (南管) and traditional dance and theater performer. With her solid background in traditional art forms, Lin makes her first step into contemporary theater with this piece that looks at the social formation of women's self-identity. Inspired by her stay in Indonesia, Lin takes elements from local traditional dance to create an ancient ritual symbolizing the rebirth of a woman's body.

The Floating Hostel (海上旅館) is a remake of a play the company performed in 2001. Originally inspired by the Sep 11 earthquake, this revised piece is directed by guest director Jimmy Zhang (張吉米) from the Door Group (百樂門大戲班劇團). Zhang tunes down the direct social references from the original script, and delivers a more surrealistic translation on the status quo through two veteran actors traveling between the real and the imagined with poetic language and abstract body movements.

Performance note:
What: 2005 Assignment Theater Festival Season presents Among the Forgotten
When: August 11 to 13 for Takdir and Fake; Aug. 18 to Aug. 20 for The Floating Hostel. All shows begin at 7:30pm
Where: Assignment Theater (差事小劇場), 9-10, Ln 18, Heping E Rd, Sec 2, Taipei (台北市和平東路二段18巷9-10號B1).
Tickets: NT$250 at the door; NT$200 in advance. Call (02) 2364 5124.
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