March 19, 2021
YisingKuo Puppet Troupe > starring Kai-Sheng Wang
“Marvelous Rider G” @ “Dadaocheng Theater Youth Xiqu Art Festival” held by Dadaocheng Theater, located in Taipei’s Traditional Theater District.
Inspired by Don Quixote, a classic novel by Spanish writer Miguel de
Cervantes, the script was rewritten, refined, and adapted for the Eastern
glove puppet theater. The absurd, peculiar behaviors of A-Chi, the leading
character in the play, are re-examined and explored once again to
highlight various phenomena and values in contemporary society. Despite
being looked down upon by the world, he chooses to uphold his ideology
and beliefs. Even though he has suffered enormous setbacks, he is not
afraid to forge ahead alone and find his path in life.
YisingKuo Puppet Troupe is an outstanding performance troupe in Chiayi City
founded in 1953. It is now under the management of the 4th generation
owner. Formerly specializing in Jin Guang glove puppetry, the troupe has
broken the traditional mold of glove puppetry under the management
of the next-generation successors. Having grown up surrounded by
glove puppetry, the young 4th generation male leading role Wang KaiSheng not only possesses abundant experience in the craft but is also a
lyricist and composer. Having pioneered the “glove puppetry rock and roll
musical”, which won the Golden Glove and Best Music Award at the Yunlin
International Puppet Theater Festival. Furthermore, the troupe was also
featured in The Theatre Times, an international theatre portal, thereby
promoting its unique brand image globally.
March 20, 2021
Unique Puppet Theater
“Three Brothers: The Last Child-Emperors” > starring Jian-Fu Guo
of the Song Dynasty” @ “Dadaocheng Theater Youth Xiqu Art Festival” held by Dadaocheng Theater, located in Taipei’s Traditional Theater District.
A glass of poisonous wine allowed Northern Song to achieve greatness
but also marked the demise of the Southern Song. Three children bear the
responsibility of continuing the heritage but relinquish their youth during
the process. Towards the end of the Southern Song, Yuan troops bore
down on the capital of Linan. Seeing the imminent demise of his empire,
Emperor Duzong of Song, Zhao Qi, drowned his sorrow in alcohol and died
unexpectedly one day. Statesmen including Lu Hsiu-Fu and others made
sure that Emperor Gong of Song came to the throne. However, when he
was later captured, the young last Emperor Duanzong of Song and the
remaining officials of the Southern Song Dynasty fled to Yai Mountain in
Guangdong, where he died for his dynasty by jumping off a cliff. Emperor
Gong of Song, Zhao Xian, who was captured at the time, had a flashback
and saw his childhood in the imperial palaces.
Founded in 2012, Unique Puppet Theater aspires to promote the heritage
of eastern traditional glove puppetry. The troupe upholds the founding
spirit of Unique Specialty – Total Dedication to design our performances.
In addition to the preservation of exquisite traditional craft, we also strive
to introduce innovative elements to the traditional theater in the hope of
enhancing the popularity of traditional glove puppetry and developing a
new direction for traditional Xiqu.