Interweaving Cultures In Performance:A Study Of Two "Yuju-Shakespeare" Productions In Taiwan

The frequent staging of Chinese xiqu productions of Shakespearean plays has already become a cultural phenomenon.The two "Yuju-Shakespeare" productions made by Taiwan Bangzi Opera Company,the 2009 Bond(based on The Merchant of Venice)and the 2012 Measure! Measure!(based on Measure for Measure),adapted by Pemg Ching-Hsi and Chen Fang in collaboration,serve as models for intercultural performance in the new century.This thesis attempts to observe,in the light of Fischer-Lichte's theory of"interweaving cultures",the two Taiwan "Yuju-Shakespeare" productions from the perspective of theatrical performance and dramatic themes,and examine the process of interweaying cultures in terms of music devices,stage spectacles and narrative contents.Erika Fischer-Lichte rethinks the notion of "intercultural theatre" in a traditional sense and proposes her theory of "interweaving cultures",suggesting that different cultural elements in the theatre interweave and interact in theatrical performance,and co-operate to build an emotional community in the theatre.The process of interweaving cultures emphasizes rather than eliminates the difference,which creates new realities.The performance with interweaving cultures is constitutive of modern theatre featured by diversity.Existing studies on Chinese xiqu productions of Shakespearean plays mainly focus on the reception of Shakespeare in China,the possibility and obstacles in the cultural transformation,and the efforts and experience in the adaptation.A prevalent paradigm of adaptation from the source/original culture to the target culture has been underlying the discussions.The thesis tends to argue that,from the perspective of "interweaving cultures",different cultural sources,such as the Shakespearean texts,performance conventions of Yuju theatre,values from different traditions as well as current social and cultural states of local communities in Taiwan,interweave in the two Taiwan "Yuju-Shakespeare"productions.These cultural sources interact and co-operate to generate new performance cultures as well as build an emotional community in the theatre.The two Taiwan "Yuju-Shakespeare" productions serve as a successful model for new intercultural theatre performance,in particular Chinese xiqu productions of Shakespearean plays,and for theatrical inheriting,reform and innovation that bring new life to old Chinese xiqu art.Their reflections on "fidelity","betrayal" and the subjectivity of Chinese culture can bring some enlightenment to their successors.Fischer-Lichte's theory of "interweaving cultures" is also a new perspective for intercultural theatre studies.