Alternative Theater in Taiwan: Feminist and Intercultural Approac ...

In her research on Taiwan Theater, Catherine Diamond wrote a book which was translated into Chinese about a number of well-acclaimed performances in Taiwan from 1988 to 1998.¹ Diamond’s articles about the Ping Fong Acting Troupe’s production Shamlet, an adaptation from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and on the Metatheatrics in Taiwan (2000) provide a Western point of view for readers to look at the theaters in Taiwan from 1988 to 2000. Chung Mingder’s dissertation at New York University discussed Taiwan Theaters from 1980 to 1989.² Chung also published three books in Chinese about the theaters (1980–1989) in Taiwan. Ivy I-chu Chang has discussed Taiwan Theater in the 1990s in terms of social movements.³ Therefore, the purpose of this book is to provide a contemporary insider’s view of Taiwan Theater that ranges from the 1990s to the present by applying Western theories to the alternative theaters in Taiwan. My interpretation of other aspects, such as Feminism and Interculturalism, in the alternative theaters in Taiwan will also be included.

Wei Shu-mei focused on mainstream Taiwanese theaters, including the Ping Fong Acting Troupe, in her doctoral dissertation (2003) in the U. K. Lin Shih-chun, utilizing Robert J. Nelson’s idea about a play-within-a-play, conducted a comparative analysis of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the Ping Fong Acting Troupe’s Shamlet (Li Guoxiu’s production) in his paper “From Hamlet to Shamlet: A Comparative Study on the Play-within-the-Play.”