The latest work by one of Taiwan’s bravest theater troupes offers a window into the fascinating and sometimes shocking topic of drug and sex parties.
Chaotic Weekend (週末狂歡夜), the new work by Kaohsiung-based Firefly Theater (螢火蟲劇團), will premier in Kaohsiung tonight and tomorrow and then move on to Taoyuan next weekend. Written and directed by the troupe’s artistic director, Han Jiang (韓江), the production features Taiwanese theater actor Ronnie Oscar Tung (董浚凱) and award-winning Hong Kong actor Joey Leung (梁祖堯) in the leads , with veteran Taiwanese actress Lulu Tian (田路路) in supporting role.
The play recounts an evening drug party in a grungy Kaohsiung motel in which four men and one woman get together for a night of romp. Panic ensues after an unexpected death, with the remaining partiers questioning each other’s motives.
Photo Courtesy of Firefly Theater
As with the troupe’s 2009 work Getting Late (天光), which was about two gay men’s suicide but turned out to be a hilarious satire, Han will ease the austerity of his subject matter with a strong dose of humor.
“The first half will be a black comedy while the second half becomes a suspense thriller. It has become my style to lighten these grave subjects with assuaging humor,” Han told the Taipei Times in a phone interview last week.
“When I founded this theater, I set out to record the situation in contemporary society with theater works,” Han said. “Drug subculture is a new phenomena that’s taking over Taiwan. I want to convey that it’s moving from the stereotypical social outcasts into middle class professionals.
“Ecstasy and ketamine are slowly becoming middle-class recreational drugs in Taiwan the way marijuana is in the US. I want to destigmatize drug culture while showing people the consequences of their actions.”
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