Wang said the number of Shakespeare-related performances was not intentional, but grew out of the principles of selection.
“We wanted a modern perspective and new ways of presentation, but we also wanted something that had classical artistic values. We didn’t want shows that were so avant-garde that they ceased to be accessible to a mainstream audience. ... Accessibility is something that was important in the selection of the festival program. ... Shakespeare is an artistic bedrock with which contemporary artists continue to work with and reinterpret,” Wang said.
Two local dramatic productions have been incorporated into the program. The first, opening Thursday, is a revival of Greenray Theater’s Neckties and High-Heeled Shoes — A Musical (領帶與高跟鞋), which premiered in 1994. For Wang, this marked a high point in the Taiwanese musical, with its natural balance of drama and song. “The [Taiwanese] musical these days over-emphasizes big dance numbers, and there is less attention to characterization. This is a great pity ... In selecting Neckties, I wanted to remind people what a good musical was like,” Wang said.
Another local production is Der Hassliche (醜男子), a localized production by artist Hung Hung (鴻鴻) of a work by Marius von Mayenburg. Hung Hung and his Dark Eyes Performance Lab (黑眼睛跨劇團) aim to present contemporary international theater to Taiwan’s theater audiences, and Von Mayenburg’s fantasy about cosmetic surgery seemed a particularly appropriate topic for body enhancement-crazy Taiwan.
There is much more, including a free public exhibition entitled Slow Dancing, which features short video images of 50 famous performance artists. The work, by David Michalek, presents these images in extreme slow motion — a five-second clip is prolonged to about 10 minutes — allowing audiences to appreciate every subtle nuance of the performer’s body. Dancer Sheu Fang-yi and Contemporary Legend founder and Beijing opera innovator Wu Hsing-kuo (吳興國) are among the 50 international artists portrayed in this exhibition.
Some shows have already sold out (see festival notes below), and tickets for others are selling fast.
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