Secret Love for the Peach Blossom Spring
Encyclopedia
Secret Love for the Peach Blossom Spring , also Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, was the second stage play by the Performance Workshop (表演工作坊) in 1986, and also the first successful modern stage play in Taiwan
. It combines two unrelated plays – a tragedy (Secret Love) and a comedy (The Peach Blossom Spring) – on the same stage, mixing seriousness with banters.
This play starts with two drama troupes arranged to have a rehearsal at the same time by mistake; one of the workshops is playing the early-modern tragedy Secret Love, and the other one is playing the period comedy The Peach Blossom Spring based on a classical poem. The problem is, both these plays have to perform in two days. Since they have only one stage for their rehearsals, issues and conflicts follow. Secret Love for the Peach Blossom Spring creates a unique experience of stage play by mixing up the costume and modern, sorrow and delight.
A feature of this play is that is it was extemporized by the director, Stan Lai
, all actress and actors. The originality renewed the view of Taiwan's drama, and then affected the Asian performing arts.
This play was first performed on March 3, 1986. In these twenty years, the play has been adapted to a movie and revised twice: the first revision was in 1999, and the second will perform in September, 2006. Each performance has its own specificity. The first performance addressed the creation of style of modern play, the first revision in 1999 included some young performer and implied the translation between two generations of performer. The second revision in 2006 involved a famous Taiwanese opera
(歌仔戲) group, Ming Hwa Yuan (明華園). The combination between stage play and Taiwanese opera is another innovation of modern theatre in Taiwan.
The success of this play led to a film in 1992, directed also by Stan Lai. It stars Brigitte Lin
and some of the actors from the stage version of the play, such as Chin Shih-chieh (金士傑). The title is identical in Chinese but its English title is shortened to The Peach Blossom Land.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. It combines two unrelated plays – a tragedy (Secret Love) and a comedy (The Peach Blossom Spring) – on the same stage, mixing seriousness with banters.
This play starts with two drama troupes arranged to have a rehearsal at the same time by mistake; one of the workshops is playing the early-modern tragedy Secret Love, and the other one is playing the period comedy The Peach Blossom Spring based on a classical poem. The problem is, both these plays have to perform in two days. Since they have only one stage for their rehearsals, issues and conflicts follow. Secret Love for the Peach Blossom Spring creates a unique experience of stage play by mixing up the costume and modern, sorrow and delight.
A feature of this play is that is it was extemporized by the director, Stan Lai
Stan Lai
Stan Lai or Lai Sheng-chuan is a highly influential award-winning US born Taiwan based playwright and theater director, also known for his award-winning feature films, known for Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land...
, all actress and actors. The originality renewed the view of Taiwan's drama, and then affected the Asian performing arts.
This play was first performed on March 3, 1986. In these twenty years, the play has been adapted to a movie and revised twice: the first revision was in 1999, and the second will perform in September, 2006. Each performance has its own specificity. The first performance addressed the creation of style of modern play, the first revision in 1999 included some young performer and implied the translation between two generations of performer. The second revision in 2006 involved a famous Taiwanese opera
Taiwanese opera
Taiwanese opera is the only form of Han traditional drama known to have originated in Taiwan. The language used is a stylized combination of both literary and colloquial registers of Taiwanese. Its earliest form adopted elements of folk songs from Zhangzhou, Fujian, China...
(歌仔戲) group, Ming Hwa Yuan (明華園). The combination between stage play and Taiwanese opera is another innovation of modern theatre in Taiwan.
The success of this play led to a film in 1992, directed also by Stan Lai. It stars Brigitte Lin
Brigitte Lin
Brigitte Lin or Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia is a Taiwanese actress. She was a popular actress, regarded as an icon of Chinese cinema, who acted in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong movies...
and some of the actors from the stage version of the play, such as Chin Shih-chieh (金士傑). The title is identical in Chinese but its English title is shortened to The Peach Blossom Land.