Epitomizing the line of “all the world’s a stage” and contemplating on the statement, the captivated, invested solo performance of its playwright CHENG Yin-Chen, accompanied by WANG Mo-Lin’s lively, detached mise-en-scène, explores and expands the possibility of a Shakespearean play in a meta way. In a performance space that is the size of a few straw mattresses, an entire world is staged. Through the mother of three daughters in the original play, the work evokes her presence but does not mean to fill the absence of the Shakespearean play. The mother’s ghost lingers through three independent yet interconnected performances: the youngest daughter who finds herself in an entanglement of love and hate that leads to her identity being torn apart; King Lear who has lost his kingdom and falls into bewilderment; and the self-evoking ghost of the queen who delivers a revelation through her spectral gaze. The “I” of all beings, evolving from a loss of words to delirious ravings, ritualistically shakes, beats, and lashes the omnipresent ghost of power.(Commentator/WANG Pao-Hsiang)

A Mother, King Lear unveils a new portrait of King Lear and embodies the idea of “family” in Shakespearean plays through the psychoanalytical self-reflection of the manifestation of an absent character (the queen that is “absent from the stage” in Shakespeare’s King Lear). A Mother, King Lear thus discusses dialectically what the actor means to theatre. It carefully underlies the priority of the actor’s agency in terms of the spiritual aspect of creating, and reconsiders the dialectic between an actor’s body and the world, enabling such body to demonstrate free creativity.

The Body Phase Studio is a revolutionary non-profit Taiwanese arts group dedicated to intercultural exchange. It was founded by WANG Mo-Lin, a pioneer of independent theatre in Taiwan. Since its establishment in 1991 until today, by hosting various international arts festivals and theatrical productions, it has enabled Taiwanese artists to exchange aesthetic ideas and perspectives with their international counterparts. It can be said that the studio has opened a window to the world for local theatre professionals following Taiwan’s Independent Theatre Movement.

Founded in 2013, approaching theatre is co-founded by KOH Choon-Eiow (Malaysia) and CHENG Yin-Chen (Taiwan). Upholding the idea of making a thorough research into one’s original intention, the theatre company focuses on script writing, directing, performing, as well as theatre education. In recent years, they have developed a training program for contemporary performers informed by the aspiration of the pioneering figure in Taiwan’s theatre movement, CHOU Yih-Chang, to center on intellectual enlightenment and awareness of the body, mind and consciousness to continue the fundamental core of local culture.