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攝影｜秦大悲
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攝影｜秦大悲
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攝影｜秦大悲
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攝影｜秦大悲
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攝影｜秦大悲
Shih-Shih Mien Liao Mi
Myan Myan Studio
Venue：Wen Shan Theater
Comments on the finalist artworks
It is easy to overlook the fact that this is a tremendously moving performance due to its title. The topic is the heart-sinking issue of long-term care. Set in a basement, the work is a realistic epitome of the society that provides no outlet for three women: a bed-ridden grandmother, an elder sister who has lost both legs, and a younger sister who is the chief care-giver. The excellence of the work can be found in the director’s handling of mise-en-scene, the playwright’s realistic, natural and insightful story and lines, the performers’ skills that seems to transform the performance into a reality show, the creativity in stage design, the highly organic quality of adaptive props, etc. This is not simply an extremely ambitious text but also a remarkable production in all aspects in terms of theatrical aesthetics. It responds to a contemporary issue while creating an artistic achievement that can stand the test of time. (Commentator: LIN Jing-Jie)
About the Artwork
Originally titled Big Sister’s Guardian Angel, Shih-Shih Mien Liao Mi was shortlisted as a finalist in the 2015 Taiwan Literary Award Creative Script-Writing category. The story of the play centers around a family of three living in a basement: with a bedridden grandmother, an older sister who is a paraplegic from an accident, and a younger sister who has dropped out of school. Language becomes a cage as in Endgame by Samuel Beckett. Playwright Chiao-jung Chen creates an ersatz prison in a Taiwanese family where the female characters each shoulder a vulnerable disadvantage.
Can the fate of the female characters in the play be overturned? Are those who survive at the lowest strata of society doomed to a cyclical chain of tragedies without possibilities for a fresh start? Full of scars and wounds like those of us in society, these characters are true to life. The script is like a mirror in through which we can faintly make out the image of society, a slice of life, and the life choices people make when at a loss, their paradoxical love for family, and our growing strength in the midst of conflict.
About the Artist
Myan Myan Studio
Myan Myan Studio was established in 2014, with LAI Wen Chun at the helm and LIN Tang-Yu as artistic director. The majority of members in the troupe are women, empowered by feminist writing. Many of the issues touched upon are based on women’s social realities. In an attempt to comprehend and to dissect female sexuality, as well as the implicit power of the feminine, they use the self-identity of womanness as a starting point; they seek inspiration and subject matter from a female perspective, elevated to the corporeal and spiritual levels, and attempt to create from a painful sensory perception. Creating a new work is like giving new life: we give birth to one work after another and love them with the same sense of anticipation as toward a newborn baby.
