Watched 《暗恋桃花源》, directed by Stan Lai (赖声川), last Saturday with 2 friends and a bunch of strangers (friends' friends). The play is damned good. Tech is good. Effect is good. Story is good. Style is good. 3 hours long, 3 hours of pure enjoyment (except for a few parts which is a little boring). The story goes like this:
*Spoilers Alert! *
The setting is 1940s, in the war-torn Shanghai, under the moonlight. A loving couple, 江滨柳 & 云之凡 is about to be separated. 之凡 is leaving for her hometown together with her family for a few months. Here, lovebirds promised to keep in touch and pledged their undying love for each other forever blah blah blah... (This is the boring part.)
At the end of the scene, an disgruntled old man, the director, comes onto the stage complaining to the 2 actors that they didn't get the feel right. ("云之凡不是这样的，她就像一朵纯洁的白色山茶花..." To which the frustrated actress replied, "导演，山茶花怎么演啊???") It turns out that they are rehearsing for a tragic play called 《暗恋》. At this point, strange props and pple starts coming onto the stage. Another drama group has booked the theatre for rehearsal that same night! ( 滨柳 :" 怎么这样？为了这出剧我推掉了《白色巨塔》leh!" ) So the director went off angrily to find the manager, and this other group begins rehearsing for their comedic play, 《桃花源》.
(Meanwhile, a mysterious woman was looking high and low for a guy called 刘子骥, which no one in both drama group knows.)
The setting is ancient China, in a house. This couple is unhappy with each others. The guy, a loser fisherman, who manage to catch only small fishes, suspects his wife is committing adultery with his landlord, which she is. To keep a long story short, the fisherman left the house in anger after a big quarrel to go to the dangerous upstream to catch big fishes, while the wife and the landlord happily stay in the house and do whatever they want to do.
Then is back to 《暗恋》. (A cock assistant 小胖 in 《桃花源》sent its next scene's backdrop to Malaysia, so, cannot they continue.)
滨柳, now married, old and dying, is lying on his bed in a hospital in modern Taiwan. (He immigrated there years ago) After all these years, he still cannot forget 之凡 even though he already has wife and kids. He found out that 之凡 has also came to Taiwan many many years ago, so he puts a notice in the newspaper, hoping that she will see that article and see him one last time...
Then is back to《桃花源》. The fisherman rowed his boat upstream and encountered a big storm. (Here is where all the impressive effects came in: smoke, lightning, and fisherman flying here and there (using steel wire)! ) At the end of the journey, he reached a Paradise, where red petals falls non-stop (really non-stop for 15-20mins!); cows, horses and other animals roam freely (pple in animal costumes, damn cok! =P). There he met his wife and the landlord look-alikes (the inhabitants of the paradise), who keep telling him to relax... relax.. relax...
Suddenly, there is a blackout. 小胖 had cut the main wire in an attempt to stop the other group from rehearsing... ermm... (Haha!) Ganna screwed, and so, he say he'll repair it during...
--------- Intermission ---------
After intermission, the 2 groups, unhappy with the progress they are making, decide to divide the stage into half and rehearsal separately. However they keep interfering with each other and the result is utter and complete confusion. (This s the most hilarious part. =) In the end, they decide rehearse one by one.
《桃花源》: The fisherman, now a very serene and peaceful person (after hearing people kept telling him to relax non-stop), decides to go back and bring his wife and landlord to the Paradise after a few days against advice. However, it turns out that many years have passed in the real world, and his wife and landlord've already married with kids (though they are also unhappy with each other). At first they thought the fisherman is a ghost ("那里有牛，有马..." "哇! 牛头马面!!!"), then when they are convinced he's still alive, they thought he's crazy and refused to believe him...
...leaving the poor fisherman alone in the real world...
(And for those of you who have read the original 陶渊明 's《桃花源记》, you'll know that the fisherman will never find his way back to the Paradise again.)
《暗恋》: 之凡 , now old and also married, eventually came to visit 滨柳. There, they found out that Fate has played a trick with them. In the vast China, they have managed to meet each other and fall in love in Shanghai despite living in different parts of China. Yet, in the (comparatively) small Taiwan, they were kept from each other despite that they both immigrate there soon after they separated... In the end, 之凡 left, went back to her family, leaving 滨柳 with his. Here, sorrows and regrets lingered in the air...
This is the end of the rehearsal. Both groups congratulate each other, pack up and leave the theatre happily. All left.
Except for the mysterious woman, who is still searching for her equally mysterious beloved, 刘子骥.
--------- The End ---------
It is simply a good show. Spectacular effects, comedy/tragedy contrast, extremely funny scripting aside, it has one thing that I feel all good shows should have - it is thought-provoking.
And it really provoked quite a variety of thoughts:
'Many things in this world are elusive - you will never get it no matter how much you chase / want it. You gotta 面对现实.' (Mine.)
'Stan Lai is encouraging Taiwan to merge back with China.' (My mum's, who didn't watch the show.)
'The 2 directors in the play are being 虚伪, cos they are presenting a story abt one trying to find something/someone, yet they turned a blind eye to the woman who is really trying to find someone...' (Overheard when I was leaving the theatre.)
'Love is about... ... ... ...' (A friend's blog.)
A good show. No wonder it is in its fifth or sixth re-runs since its first debut 20 over years ago. For those who didn’t watch, wait for next re-run ba. =)
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