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Duty vs free will

Older Cousin looks at the compromises 30-somethings make between freedom and tradition. PHOTO: COURTESY OF OPTENDOS WORKSHOP

Oftendo Huang (黃常祚), writer and director of Older Cousin (大表哥) understands how pressure to get a "respectable job" conflicts with the need for creative expression.

Conflict between duty to family and individuality and between society's expectations and personal yearning appears in his play, which is currently running at the Crown Theater (皇冠藝文中心小劇場).

"My parents were absolutely against me going into the theater," he said, because "doing something artistic (in Taiwan) is not really considered a job." A trip to New York, however, during which he regularly watched on- and off-Broadway plays convinced him that theater was his milieu.

The main character in Older Cousin is similar to Huang in that he is a burgeoning artist - an aspiring filmmaker named Biao - who is stuck in a boring day job and feels pressured by his family to get married.

Biao, however, has two lovers. U, who adores and wants to marry him, represents stifling traditional values. Lan, on the other hand, symbolizes individual freedom and is only vaguely interested in him because she plans to study overseas.

Performance notes What: Older Cousin (大表哥) When: Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm Where: Crown Theater (皇冠藝文中心小劇場), located at 50, Ln 120 Dunhua N Rd, Taipei City (台北市敦化北路120巷50號) Tickets: Shows are sold out, but some tickets may become available because of cancellations. Call Amanda at (09) 2178-7656 for more information）

A sub-plot mirrors the main plot, but reverses the sexes of the characters. Vivi is engaged to marry Wei, who, with his good job and desire for a family, is the picture of stability. But Vivi is powerfully attracted to a workmate, the easy-going Andy.

Biao and Vivi's struggles link the two plots together because what they want most - the freedom to explore their artistic and sexual sides respectively - has the potential to turn their lives upside down.

Permeating the entire work is the notion that Huang's generation has to choose between their own desires and living up to a value system that they find increasingly constraining but difficult to escape.

All five performances have sold out, making it seem that the themes in this show resonate well with people living in Taipei. 
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