上帝之子 taipei times 演前預報 - 舞台劇

MUSIC: A surreal feast for the eyes
By Noah Buchan
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Dec 18, 2009, Page 14

PERFORMANCE NOTES:
WHAT: Child of God (上帝之子)

WHEN: Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm

WHERE: Guling Street Avant-Garde Theatre (牯嶺街小劇場), 2, Ln 5, Guling St,
Taipei City (台北市牯嶺街5巷2號)

ADMISSION: NT$400, available through NTCH ticket outlets or online at
www.artsticket.com.tw

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The Party Theater Group’s (同黨劇團) Child of God (上帝之子) is so effective
in creating an eerie dystopian atmosphere, it may cause nightmares. The
production begins tonight at Guling Street Avant-Garde Theatre (牯嶺街小劇場).

It should be noted that this reviewer only saw a few scenes at a tech
rehearsal on Wednesday night, so I cannot comment on the play’s overall
narrative quality. However, the parts that I did see demonstrated a potent
use of staging — particularly masks and movement — that offers a
deliciously surreal interpretation of the novel on which it is based.

Chui An-chen (邱安忱) and Mark Zidzik adapted the script from Ursula K. Le
Guin’s 1971 science fiction novel The Lathe of Heaven, which tells the story
of a young man with the power to alter reality through his dreams. Thinking
he is losing his mind, the young man goes to see a psychiatrist who, at
first, uses the young man’s dreams as a means to change the world for the
better.

But the doctor’s initial benevolent desire to help soon gives way to a
malevolent thirst for power. A woman soon appears to help the young man
regain control over his dreams, his sanity and the future.

The novel uses the dreamer’s powers to examine social issues —
environmental degradation, racism and overpopulation — and how good
intentions often lead to unforeseen consequences.

To its credit, The Party Theater Group keeps things simple and focuses on the
relationship between the doctor and patient and the tyranny that can result
when one individual has too much power over others — one that is
compellingly portrayed in a scene where the doctor acts as the puppeteer to
the helpless young man who reacts as if he were a marionette.

But it is the masks — custom-made to fit each of the actors — that resonate
most with the authoritarian and bizarre atmosphere director Beck Lim (林耀華)
is trying to create. The large and bulging eyes on these otherworldly objects
possess a frighteningly surreal appearance that underscores the evil
intentions of the doctor and the fear gripping the young man.

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