Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalists

The four-act classic, Liaozhai (Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio), presented in traditional puppet theater was embedded in a modern dramatic scene of “ghosts in a laundry shop.” Humans, ghosts, clothing, and puppets became metaphors for one another, piecing together a realistic yet phantasmal, time-travelling play—a play that was presented by puppeteers manipulating puppets as well as a person (the director) manipulating other people, and with minor narratives within the main narrative, and small stages displayed within the large visual frame. In addition, the “March 18 Student Movement,” which was taking place at the time, was narrated in flashback by the performers as they remotely viewed the incident (in images). Time, space and narratives were all made illusions, signaling the political illusions and the spectrally rendered history; the phantasmagorical narrative was carried out through the play. Furthermore, through the illusory change of frames, the director allowed the possibility for the audience to automatically adjust their perspective, not only refining the beauty of hand puppetry, but also resolving the difficulty of viewing when puppet theater entered the modern theater. This is highly commendable in terms of the performance and the aesthetics of the genre. (Commentator / CHI Hui-Ling)

Artwork Introduction

A Tale of Allure and Enchantment is a breakthrough for the puppet theater. Under the instructions of National Treasure Master CHEN Xi-huang, Shan Puppet and Hong Puppet invite director WANG Chia-ming and scriptwriter LIN Jian-hua to create a brand-new puppet theater that is both bewildering and enchanting with the techniques of modern theater. It does not only break the traditional window frame to allow screens and pillars to run on the stage, but also bring the puppet-players and musicians up to the front for all the audiences to see. Drums, gongs and string instruments make every element of the puppet theater even more lively and vigorous.

Surrounding human emotions and desires, six stories from Liaozhai Zhiyi (Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio) feature ghosts, deities, evil spirits and foxes that disturb human beings’ six senses, namely, eyes, ears, noses, tongues, bodies and minds. Within the black box, all the imaginations and fantasies play to the extreme.

About the Artists 

Production and Performance: HUANG Wu-shan was the first-generation member of Wei Wan Jan puppet troupe of Juguang Elementary School. He is the current director of Shan Puppet Theater, as well as a puppet theater teacher in various schools. WU Rong-chang had been a pupil under CHEN Xi-huang and LI Tian-lu, and is the current director of Hong Puppet Theater. In addition to performances, he also teaches the art of the puppet theater. 

Director: WANG Chia-ming is the current director of Shakespeare’s Wild Sisters Group. His work, Once, Upon Hearing the Skin Tone, won the annual grand prize of performing arts in the eighth Taishin Arts Award.