Published in The List
WU HSING-KUO
knows all about transformation. In the Edinburgh International Festival
of 2011, he morphed himself into all the key characters of King Lear.
In his idiosyncratic one-man interpretation of Shakespeare’s play, Wu
tackled each part in turn, drawing on the techniques of Peking opera and
employing balletic kicks, athletic tumbles, operatic wails and the most
delicate of eye movements.
When it comes to transformation, there is no greater novella than Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis,
with its story of Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman who wakes to find
himself inexplicably turned into a beetle. It is to this strange
European allegory, published in 1915, that Wu has now turned as he heads
back to Edinburgh with Taiwan’s Contemporary Legend Theatre. ‘Kafka is a
thinker as well as an author,’ he says. ‘His philosophy has had a great
impact in the East.’
In our late-capitalist high-pressure world,
the image of someone changing from a metaphorical worker insect into
the genuine article has particular resonance. The main reason people
notice Gregor Samsa’s absence is because he’s late for work. ‘People of
our generation tend to be slaves of economic society,’ says the
actor-director. ‘In Kafka’s story, he speaks out for helpless young
people and reveals their inner voice. He also asks, “what is existence
for?” I feel my predicament is not unlike that of Gregor Samsa,
attending to his family duties.’
As with King Lear, Wu takes a
directly personal approach to the original. In Kafka’s fraught family
relationships, he hears echoes of the sometimes humiliating father-son
relationship he had with his acting teacher. It also makes him reflect
on his late mother. ‘Because she passed away due to lung failure soon
after my graduation, I deliberately arrange a pretty mother in my play
to stand for youth and a woman that I love.’
The influence of
Peking opera remains, although it is less easy to apply it to a European
existentialist novel than a play by Shakespeare. In this school of
performance, equal weight is carried by language, literature, dancing,
fighting and singing. Wu also draws on his experience as a modern dancer
and movie actor. ‘I still employ techniques of Peking opera which are
my mother tongue. This work, however, has much space which enables me to
bring creative ideas of dancing and visual images into full play.’
In
keeping with the theme of this year’s EIF, Metamorphosis is Wu’s first
attempt to make use of interactive technology. He has been collaborating
with multimedia programmer YS Wang, and with the Quanta Institute of
Technology which has provided him with options for recording,
digitalisation and interactive performance. ‘I hope to stage technology
with a humane aspect,’ he says. ‘In Eastern theatre, conveying
philosophical ideas carries a lot of weight. Application of technology
should be regarded as secondary. After all, The Metamorphosis deals with
humans and actors are still the focus of our work. Technology, on the
other hand, plays the roles of the dream world or subconscious.’
As
an artist who routinely combines several disciplines, Wu sees
technology as a great artistic opportunity. ‘It excites me tremendously.
New and old theatrical languages integrate as they confront each other.
I have to be extremely sensitive and alert in the creative process and
it enables me to be closer to Kafka in spirit. It is a suffering that I
enjoy.’
Contemporary Legend Theatre: Metamorphosis, King’s
Theatre, Leven Street, 0131 473 2000, 10 & 11 Aug, 8pm; 12 Aug, 3pm,
£12–£30.
© Mark Fisher 2013
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