Metamorphosis : of Tiger And Men

Shadow＋Puppets＋Actor＋live Music／50 mins

Text：SHIH Ju-fang
Director：SHIH Pei-yu

Premiere
21-22 Nov. 2020 Keep on Dreaming
Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center Multi Hall(3102)

Roar with such force that the rebels dare not leave the mountain forests; roar such that it transcends historical fact; roar a Taiwanese model for life that shines in a distinct light.                                                                      

The word 「虗」, pronounced ‘hsü’, is a word meaning ‘false’ that takes the appearance of a tiger (虎) atop a hill (丘). Inspired by the Tiger Stele on Danlan Old Road and Nakajima Atsushi’s novel The Moon Over the Mountain, this play spins a tale about a chance meeting between Taiwanese military official Liu Mingdeng and an art peddler on a stretch of mountain road. Through a blend of modern puppet drama and traditional Chinese opera, the facts and falsehoods of rebel history are spun into fantasy. A man and yet a tiger, a puppet and yet a man, both man and puppet take the stage in a fascinating tale of magical realism.