A blanket against the storm: Lost Lear in Taichung
An Irish production reaches Taichung for three performances, October 16–18. English with Chinese surtitles; 80 minutes without an interval.
Buddy Lien · Xitun, Taichung
Lost Lear: two people beneath a blanket
Dan Colley (writer and director)
Lost Lear production photograph ©Ste Murray. Published by National Taichung Theater. Editorial use.
Editorial useView source ↗
A son tries to reach his mother inside the play she still inhabits.
In Ste Murray's photograph, two performers hold a blanket above their heads. Blue-lit hospital curtains surround them. A small shelter has appeared in the care facility.
Joy, a former actor living with dementia, believes she is rehearsing King Lear. Her carers play along. Then her estranged son Conor arrives, trying to reach someone whose present is made from older scenes.
In Liang Wen-ching's interview for the theatre, Dan Colley describes developing the work through workshops with people living with dementia and their carers, drawing on time with his grandmother. Lear was among the plays participants kept returning to. Colley also wants audiences to find the absurdity and laughter.
Get there
Public transport
From City Hall MRT on the Green Line, allow 20 minutes for the roughly 1.3 km walk. Bus 161 also connects HSR Taichung Station to the theatre; allow separately for its timetable and journey.
Sources
- Theatre: Lost Lear ↗ — Performances, language, prices and entry rules
- Liang Wen-ching interviews Dan Colley ↗ — Grandmother, workshops and the making of the work
- OPENTIX: performances ↗ — Official booking and current availability
- OPENTIX: two-ticket package ↗ — 20% off two or more tickets and package refund terms
- Theatre: getting here ↗ — Address, buses and arrival