Fili’s world

Oh, how I longed for a show in English. It’s been a while since I saw a show, any show, maybe almost a year. When a group of shy Taiwanese approached me with a card about a play in English called “Heart’s Desire” that was going to take place in NCKU, I was thrilled. I didn’t expect much, since it was suppose to be a FLLD students from National Chi Nan University but after I went there I have to say it was absolutely terrific and I had a really good time.

Here’s a bit about Heart’s Desire by Caryl Churchill:

A family is waiting for the return of their daughter from her holiday in Australia. However, instead of focusing on the impact of the event, it is the very act of waiting which dominates the text. The tone of the piece is set from the start when the opening four lines are spoken, then the piece is reset and the opening is repeated a further two times. The repetition of everyday routines highlights the monotony in their lives. They appear to lack purpose and direction. This is coupled with the fear of the future as the family reacts in extreme ways to the imminent arrival. As each increasingly absurd event happens, the play returns to the beginning, capturing the audience in the futility and frustration that the characters themselves are experiencing.

It was very well done. Here’s a short scene from the play :

And some snapshots :

The Chinese material provided about the graduating FLLD students was top notch :

Absolutely brilliant. A great surprise finding something like this in Tainan. God, I wish we had more of that happening here. Maybe it is, and I just don’t know about it.