Li Er Zai Ci

Alternative title: Lear is Here
Synopsis: A version of King Lear using the theatrical formalism of Beijing opera as a medium in which to read Shakespeare’s play. The director translates Lear into a three-act, one-actor piece of performance art, taking on nine of the characters himself: Lear, Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, Gloucester, Edgar and Edmund, the Fool and the Earl of Kent.
Language: Chinese - Mandarin (PRC)
Country: Taiwan
Medium: Multimedia; Video
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Recording date: 2001
Duration: 120 mins

Director

Wu Hsing-Kuo

Music

Lee Yi-Chin

Production Design

Chang Ho-Chin

Costume

Tim Yap

Cast

Wu Hsing-Kuo

Theatre: Taipei Novel Hall
Theatre company: Contemporary Legend Theatre Company
Production type: Stage Recordings
Plays: King Lear
Keywords: Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Cross-dressing; Beijing Opera; Gender reversal

Notes: The full performance may be accessed at http://web.mit.edu/shakespeare/asia (accessed 10.2010).
History: Produced by Dangdai chuanqui [The Contemporary Legend Theatre] of Taiwan in Paris and New York, 2000; Taipei, 2001; Japan, Singapore, Macau, and Seoul, 2002-2003; London and Hong Kong, 2003; Taipei, 2004; Berlin, 2006; and at the Lincoln Centre Festival, Rose Theatre, New York, NY, 12 July 2007.
Textual information: Lee Li-heng is dramaturg
Reviews: Oestreich, James R. New York Times 14 July 2007, pp. A15, A19; Lin, Erika T. Shakespeare Bulletin 28, no. 1 (2010): 188-91; Huang, Alexander. ‘Shakespeare, Performance, and Autobiographical Interventions’ in Shakespeare Bulletin: A Journal of Performance Criticism and Scholarship 24. 2 (Summer 2006): 31-47.

SHAKESPEARE