What I liked
The actors were uniformly wonderful. The lead actress was a vision in subtlety and patience – the range of emotions were as complex as the variety of explanations which helped to keep us all on our toes. The dreamlike lighting and the “greek chorus” styled dancers added to the illusion that not all is exactly as it seemed, which helped to keep the evolving nature of the drama on high tilt.
What I didn't like
I wanted to know more of the history of this – and it began with a creative historical take on the situation, but I may not have truly understood the real-life set-up until I read more about it after the fact. I loved the multi-lingual aspect of the show (and of course the English subtitling worked so incredibly well as the English text was shorter so that we could glean the translation and see the Mandarin version without missing either.
My overall impression
Wow, this show was incredible. I saw the performance on Saturday 6/21 6pm – and to say it was riveting was an understatement. The seriousness of the drama, combined with the factual and sociological realities of personal relationships across mainland China and Taiwan sparked interest enough, but when the drama begins with the aftermath of a woman who murders her husband and the stigmas surrounding the overall treatment of women – and the magical way this cut in and out of reality in such a way, you are left wondering how much is psychological and metaphoric and how much is the actual reality of the times. The actors were uniformly spectacular in creating this emotional mindscape of whether it was real or just imagined – or even how you as a viewer would handle the very same situation. The lead woman (Sadie C.) was incredible in her ability to be at times razor focussed and yet convincingly in altered states of shock as the myriad of professionals trying to get through the truth of her story. So impressed by the story, told in two languages (Mandarin and English) and a minimalist set that put the drama up front and personal made for a riveting evening of theatre. Kudos to all who brought this story to life.
