Where Shall We Two Meet, in East or in West: When Po-shen Lu’s The Witch Sonata—Psalm of Macbeth Encounters With William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Abstract

By using tai-yu (min-nan-hua, Taiwanese local language) to stage William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Po-shen Lu produced an experimental performance in the southern part of Taiwan in 2003. When producing Antigone in 2001, Lu was challenged by his critics in three aspects: (1) the tradition of tai-yu theatre of Tainan Jen Theatre and that of Western plays, (2) audience reception in Taiwan, and (3) the advantages and disadvantages of integrating tai-yu with Western classic texts. In spite of these criticisms on his theatrical productions, Lu has continued helping Tainan Jen Theatre transform into a professional theatrical troupe since he became an artistic director in 2002. By analyzing how and why Lu staged his The Witch Sonata—Psalm of Macbeth in the socio-historical context of intercultural adaptation, I propose to re-revaluate Lu’s artistic contribution to the theatrical development in the southern part of Taiwan. I would argue that Lu is not only challenging Taiwanese reading of Shakespeare but also exploring the possibilities of tai-yu’s theatricality, in a view to bringing new life to Taiwan’s intercultural theatre.