星期二, 12月 26, 2006

Love as History: Goodbye, the Moon of Kaohsiung Harbor

Time: 4:00 pm. Nov. 12th, 2006

Place: Daitian Temple in Kaohsiung

Director&Playwrite: Han Jiang(Firefly Troupe)

It’s already autumn, but Kaohsiung, the city of southern Taiwan, is still hot.

As a city with international airport and harbor, Kaohsiung is rising. The MRT system, the Stadium of World Games 2009, the National Theater and the Concert Hall are under construction. The Firefly Company witnessed the change of Kaohsiung for ten years.

We may see three theatrical elements in the Firefly Company’s Goodbye, the Moon of Kaohsiung Harbor. They are the role of storyteller, the style of Taiwanese opera, and the genre of “Dacuigo” (the Taiwanese burlesque).

The stage was set on the square before the temple. The storyteller started with the history of Takao (the former name of Kaohsiung) Harbor, which included the Portuguese, the Japanese, and the American government periods, and ended up with the flood in 1959. The Taiwanese opera mixed with pop music and the Dacuigo performed the female situations in the history of Kaohsiung: departure with her Taiwanese lover, waiting for her foreign boyfriend, and the theophany of Mazhu (the Heavenly Empress) in the flood.

Though the situations were sad, but for the audience, this production was entertaining. The playwright combined demotic culture with riddles and caught the audience’s attention. The Taiwanese Opera and cross-acting made a creative narration. Heterophonic elements gathered on the stage at the same time but felt harmonious.

Dacuigo performed by Han Jiang and Cai Shu Fen bound three parts of the story. The sexual hints in Dacuigo accommodated this sad story with some space to breath.

The Picture of Mazhu’s Theophany seemed to be the climax of this play. After the worship offered, six actors took bows with fan dance. Two actors were left on the stage continuing their Dacuigo and entertaining the audience.

However the transformation of female images, including a woman who sent her husband to the army, a prostitute who waited for a foreign officer, and a goddess who saved people in the flood, were not clear. When husbands and lovers were gone, the only powerful female figure was a goddess. It’s a pity that women could not save themselves on their own. Only a goddess could make miracles.

After watching this play, the audience could understand the history of the Kaohsiung Harbor with amusement. The flash of visual shock left a black and white photograph of this harbor, and we saw time and tides of Kaohsiung passing by.

感謝JW Lee與YT Lee

星期四, 12月 21, 2006

懷舊做為前進動力-臺灣戲劇表演家《郵差》

時間:20061217日下午2:30

地點:成功大學成功廳

編導:李宗熹

人類企圖攀及星星的高度,鏤刻下自己的事蹟,在彩色玻璃和石塊上。

-鐘樓怪人

竭盡所能將場景拉回過往,利用動人的故事及技巧來敘事,是自《再會,高雄港的月娘》、《聽見海潮》、《浮浪貢開花》與《郵差》連續幾齣戲看下來的心得。自從流行音樂取材於老歌蔚為風尚,經典戲碼不斷上演,台灣的劇場似乎也吹起一股懷舊風。

不同的是,《郵差》這個原創劇本在這沉潛的年代裡所引發的效應,似乎凌駕標榜實驗創新的那股力量。80年代小劇場運動式微之後,劇場界百家齊鳴一段時期,深耕且築夢踏實的團體在許多劇團中脫穎而出。觀眾的需求終於讓創作者低頭審思,不再伸手向那遙不可及的理想攀爬。

《郵差》是個相當親切的演出,從觀眾年齡層看來,他們鎖定的觀眾群非常明確。年輕人看熱鬧,內行人也可領會出其中的門道。

【劇本】

就趣味性而言,此劇上半場相當成功。結合時事與情節,輔以鋪陳之伏筆。逗趣的戲劇行動包裝了嚴肅的時代背景。空有主幹的神木令人乏味,漫天爬行的藤蔓則流於鬆散。前半場觀戲經驗讓人看見枝繁葉茂的情景,事件交錯堆疊,相當令人期待。

相較之下,下半場的主幹抑止了旁枝的發展,朝向單一事件進行,即郵差和平如何將十八封信一一交到女兒手裡。為配合時事,這些信件突顯不出一位母親對女兒成長期的重要性,反而像無助單身父親哄騙女兒的糖果。

劇本結構至此有些頭重腳輕,分不清此劇的高潮點是個小遺憾。正因如此,觀眾必須從旁枝尋找樂趣,削減了主幹之力道。個人推測感性與抒情是下半場之目的,可惜的是中場休息之後,上半場鋪陳的劇情其解密過程過於輕而易舉,降低對劇情的期待也減少戲劇的張力。

【導演】

上半場節奏很緊湊,郵差和平個人的想像空間是我特別喜歡的一段。從這段短短的戲當中,可看出導演相當熟悉劇場語言與場面調度。投影片的不同呈現方式也可看出導演的細膩與巧思。可惜的是劇中有關上了年齡的角色與事件處理方式稍嫌青澀,這也正是此劇最大的弱點。

但就親和力而言是相當成功的,若要刻意挑剔,只能說深度稍嫌不足,有點搔不到癢處之憾。

【演員】

南部資深演員雖然不多,但是此劇演員的整體表現卻令人眼睛一亮。我相信導演在這方面功不可沒,同樣資歷的演員,在不同團體無法表現如此符合導演期待的精準。

23歲的和平、40歲的和平、軍隊裡的班長與陳明宏是特別亮眼的幾位,但隨著年齡與經驗累積,年長的和平在智慧與行為的表現上似乎沒有顯著的差別,於是雖然使用相當多「角色與其另身」的重疊手法,但這幾位和平看起來不像是同一角色。

女性角色的塑造有些僵化,年輕女子巧笑倩兮,中年女子含辛茹苦,老年女子鬱鬱寡歡,顯然這齣戲裡關於女性的刻畫稍微扁平。

【設計】

舞台很技巧的使用了三度空間,但象徵溝通橋樑的天梯始終沒有發揮作用,有些可惜。背景幕的設計方式相當特殊,平時不會喧賓奪主,但在舞會與投影時發揮相當大的作用。

燈光恰如其份,在幾場戲裡也替劇情達到加分效果,舞會與結尾是讓我印象特別深刻的幾個畫面。相形之下,服裝的表現平平,最搶眼的是郵差的制服,不過看完戲後也只對這制服有印象。

過程中不斷令人想起《阿甘正傳》與《扭轉未來》這些電影,感覺這不像是對於郵差工作的辛勞有感而發之創作,而是劇作家選擇的題材。編導個人色彩強烈,將演員代領至專業的境界,導演風格更是凌駕演員特質。

除了明顯易懂的特質,臺灣戲劇表演家這幾年在大環境不利創作的情況下異軍突起,除了不漫無目實驗耍弄深奧理論,從一些小地方讓觀眾覺得這是個有人情味的團體。明信片上貼好的郵票、劇場外之臨時郵局,中場休息時洗手間的疏散,這些細微且貼心的考慮都是他們成功的要素。

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