La potion de réincarnation

Adults and teens, 13 years +

 

Tickets for Friday, March 3, 2023, 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for Saturday, March 4, 2023, 1:30 p.m.

This show, or show you had in mind is sold out? Try your luck at the door!
Arrive early. If reserved tickets are cancelled at the last minute, we will gladly to put them up for sale.

 

 

Performance in Taiwanese with French surtitles 

La Potion de réincarnation weaves together the stories of three important female characters from traditional Chinese opera (Wang Bao-chuan, Pan Jin-lian, and Bai Su-zhen) and their encounters with Meng Po (Lady Meng), a legendary figure in the Buddhist and Taoist traditions. Meng Po is often called the Goddess of Forgetfulness and Rebirth.

In the afterlife, no soul can hope to be reincarnated without first meeting Meng Po and drinking her potion, which has the virtue of erasing all memories of previous lives. The soul, purged of memories, can then be born again.

Acclaimed when performed in Avignon in 2018, La Potion de réincarnation offers a rare look at the beauty and expressiveness of Bo De Hi Taiwanese hand puppets. While respecting the architecture of traditional performances, this show challenges preconceived notions about this age-old art form through its resolutely contemporary form.

“With this puppet show, the Taiwanese company Jin Kwei Lo presents a poetic and marvellous journey to the gates of the Far East.”
– Johan Barthélemy, La Provence (France)

Running time: 60 minutes
Techniques: hand puppets and mask

 

Video

 

Photos

Photos: Ken Ko

Company

Ms. Ko Chiang Szu-Mei was first introduced to puppetry at age 16, in her father’s company. She became the first female puppeteer in Taiwan, a profession that had until then been reserved exclusively for men. She then founded her own troupe, the Jin Kwei Lo Puppetry Company, which today counts three generations of puppeteers. Ms. Ko Chiang Szu-Mei is now 90 years old and still works with the company. The Jin Kwei Lo Puppetry Company is highly regarded for its efforts to both preserve an ancient tradition and transform and modernize the form.

 

Credits

Story: Ching Fu-Chin and Ko Shih-Hing
Stage direction: Cheng Chia-Yin
Artistic direction: Kochiang Szu-Mei
Scenography: Zheng Shengwen 
Lighting and stage management: Tahir Mohamed Fita Helmi Bin
Puppets: Leung Menghan, Shih-Hung Ko and Shih-Hua Ko
Music: Chiang Chien-HSing
Vocal arrangements: Wu Yating
Performance: Ke Shihong, Ke Shihua and Liu Yuzhen
Technique: Lai Wei-Yu
Translation: Su Wei-Jeune
Performance: Shih-Hung Ko, Shih-Hua Ko and Yu-Jane Liu