Taiwan’s avant-garde Firefly Theater (螢火蟲劇團) will perform its latest work Deep Fall (秋夜) on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10 in Sinjhuang, and Nov. 16 and Nov. 17 in Kaohsiung. Written and directed by the troupe’s artistic director Han Jiang (韓江), the production features actor Ronnie Oscar Tung (董浚凱) and actress Huang Hsiao-ching (黃曉菁) in the leading roles.
The story is inspired by a journey Han took to India last March, a trip, he says, that brought about several inexplicable moments of sadness.
On a trip to a Buddhist temple, he says, and on another trip to a giant Buddha statue under a lotus tree, he burst into tears. He added that he spent time in rundown areas in an attempt to blend in and gain a deeper understanding of the local people.
Photo courtesy of Firefly Theater
“It was a life-altering experience for me,” he says. “I learned to become more sympathetic towards other people’s passion and desire.”
The story, somewhat at odds with the spiritual quest Han undertook, tells of a man who kills his homosexual lover. Soon after, he puts his lover’s body in a bathtub filled with water imported from India’s sacred Ganges River in attempt to resurrect the dead man.
Firefly Theater has earned plaudits for tackling taboo subjects such as sex and drugs (last year’s Chaotic Weekend, 週末狂歡夜) and homosexuality and death (Between Twilight, 浮光) and now Deep Fall.
“Many of us love people the wrong way. They love people for ulterior motives such as beauty or social status,” Han says.
“I hope viewers will have a deeper respect for their loved ones after viewing this performance.”
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