We are Ghosts
Love distorted to the extreme
Missed warning signs
We are all ghosts
We are all sick


As the second production under the Rewriting Classics Project, this 2017 theatrical piece We are Ghosts is an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts. The depiction of Christian doctrines being blindly embraced in the original plot is axed in the adapted version, which instead focuses on the family ethos so common yet so constraining in the Chinese-speaking world. The play discusses motherhood and why family tragedies are passed on through intergenerational transmission and become recurrent. It offers an insight into the lingering “ghosts” around us and the origin of the “disease” in Chinese families.

Playwright CHIEN Li-ying builds on the ending of Ghosts to revisit the interdependence between “disease” and “family”, diagnosing how this interdependency has become quietly prevalent in Taiwanese society. Replacing Ibsen’s mentioning of syphilis with mental illness, We are Ghosts retells an allegory of a family whose members are unable to rescue one another despite their interdependence. On a wider scope, the play speaks of the pathological pursuit of affection among modern-day people.
 
Production Calendar |
Dec. 21st, 2019_DAGUAN International Performing Arts Festival_NTUA Performing Arts Center, New Taipei City
Jan. 26th-28th, 2018_New Taipei City Arts Center
Dec. 16th-17th, 2017_National Taichung Theater
 
Credit |
Adapted from|Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen
Playwright|CHIEN Li-Ying
Director|Tora Hsu
Cast|Gwen Yao, CHU Ding-Yi, Angie Wang, LIN Chia-Chi
Producer|SU Chih-Peng
Stage Manager|Dino Chang
Set Design|LIAO Yin-Chiao
Video Design|WANG Cheng-Yuan
Light Design| Joanne Shyue
Costume Design|LEE Yu-Sheng
Composer|Blaire Ko
Sound Design|HUNG Yi-Chun
Graphic Design | LI Ming-Chen
Director Assistant|WANG Shih-An
Dresser|Teddy Cheng, Sarah Wu
Wardrobe|LIN Hsin (2017.2018) , LIN Pei-Jun (2019)
Video Design Assistant|HUANG Yong-Hsin (2017.2018), YU Hsian-Chi (2019)
Sound Design Assistant|CHEN Ren-Fang (2019)
Stage Manager Assistant|CHOU Hsien-Hsin
Technical Director|YANG Yaun-Jie (2017), HSU An-Chi (2018), LIU Bo-Yen (2019)
Master Electrician|CHEN Jen-Shuo
Sound Engineering|YEN Hsin-Yang
Video Operator|LIN Jia-Rong (2017.2018)
Performance Subtitle Operator|TSENG Chung-Yi
Sound Performane|LIN Tzu-Heng, TSENG Hsin-Yen, WANG Shi-Wei, DENG Ming-You
Technicians|LIN Jin-Yi, LIN Chih-Chien, HSU Jia-Yu, KAO Tang-Chieh, CHEN Yen-Wei, CHEN Cheng-Hua, YEH Si-Han,
                        CHO Jin, LOU Kuan-Yen, CHONG Ping-Yu, WANG Yuan-Hong, YE Xiu-Ying, CHANG Xiu-Ming, XIAO Ru-Jun,
                        WU Hong-Yu, WEN Ting-Wei, WU Lun-Liang, HSIEH Yi-Chang, ZHUANG Yue-Chang, HSU Shao-Xiang,
                        CHEN Ming-Jia, LIN Jian-Ping, LI Qing-Tai, HE Xin-Yun, HSU Jun-Feng
Main Visual Photographer|Etang Chen
Photography|Lafun Photography, Dabei Chin
Performance Documentation|HSIEH Hsueh-Jung
Executive Producer|Ann Wu, DENG Ming-You
Premier Commission|National Taichung Theater, National Performing Arts Center