Its Taipei performances have already sold out. For Taiwan drama, and for the Ping-Fong Acting Troupe (屏風表研演班) in particular, this is sensational news. This despite Hugh Lee (李國修), Ping-Fong's artistic director, having taken the troupe into hibernation last year after poor box office takings for drama in Taiwan had caused him to publicly question the viability of the company, one of Taiwan's biggest established dramatic groups.
He has come back with The Aurora Borealis (
PHOTO COURTESY OF PING-FONG
The Aurora Borealis is actually a love story. Its theme is first love over three generations and the themes of promises and commitment run through it. "It seems to me that this is what people want now [in the political sphere] as well," Lee said at a rehearsal on Wednesday.
With much cutting back and forth between the generations and creating a sense of dialogue across time, Lee seeks to create a montage of modern Taiwan. For anyone who has lived here any length of time, there is much that is evocative of an older Taiwan that is rapidly disappearing in the surge of economic and political freedom. While this may be all for the good, Lee is not averse to tugging at the heartstrings, and much has been made of its tear-jerking content. The cast and organizers advice the audience to bring tissues.
One of the great features of the show is the simulation of the Aurora Borealis, for part of the action takes place in sight of that great natural spectacle. NT$200,000 was spent on computer equipment to create the effects. "We ran way over budget doing this," Lee said, "and it is being used as one of the main selling points of the show." Ping-Fong has often tested the technical limits of Taiwan's theater venues, and this show is no different. The only reservation is that it is putting too much into this part of the show.
Fortunately, Lee is able to draw on some of Taiwan's best acting talent, but even so, the style is a little too close to television sitcom. The need to show how very international Taiwan has become is admirable as well, but the inclusion of Andrew Lloyd Webber's I Don't Know How to Love Him as a duet is rather incongruous. But then stranger things happen every day in the whirligig of Taiwan life.
The Aurora Borealis is modern Taiwanese drama at its best; an attempt to come to grips dramatically with Taiwan's own experience and thus it is highly recommended. Unfortunately, as tickets in Taipei are no longer available, audiences in northern Taiwan will have to consider the trip to the Hsinchu Cultural Center for shows on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. The show will also tour Taichung and Kaohsiung through January. Tickets for these performances are available through Acer ticketing outlets or through Ping-Fong at (02) 2938-2005 ext 806.
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