今日上海
台湾老戏骨戏剧演绎《父亲》 - 2024年07月17日
Veteran Taiwan actor to portray person with Alzheimer's disease in new play
Veteran Taiwan actor Chin Shih-Chieh will star in the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center's new play "Le Père" (The Father), which is adapted from French playwright Florian Zeller's award-winning work of the same name.
The play centers on a father and daughter. The father, Anthony, who has Alzheimer's disease, constantly forgets important life events and where things are kept around his flat. His daughter Anna pays him a visit, and the past emerges in a chaotic way through two different perspectives.
The original play won the Molière Award for Best Play in 2014. It was made into a film "The Father" by Zeller in 2020, starring Anthony Hopkins. The film won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and Hopkins won an Oscar for Best Actor.
72-year-old Taiwanese actor Chin Shih-Chieh will play the role of the father in the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center's version of the play, which is premiering later the month.
"Due to the age and status of the character, the script is very difficult to remember as there are many illogical and repetitive lines," Chin said.
"The relationship between the father and daughter is very exhausting. There is no right or wrong, but it presents a distorted family living condition," he added.
Chin Shih-Chieh will play the lead role in the live theater event.
Chin was known for founding the experimental Lanling Theater in Taiwan in 1979, becoming one of the leading figure's in Taiwan's modern theater. He is also a playwright and director, and has won awards from national and international film festivals.
"Le Père" will be Chin's first stage experience out of Taiwan.
"When I was young, I pursued diversity and tried many experimental performance methods and new ways of playing in the theater," he said. "Now that I am old and less mobile, I like quiet and classic works."
Chin said that before thinking about playing a patient, he first wanted to play a man and a father.
"In order to pursue accuracy, I would look for three translations for each script. I would also watch news documentaries to study people's real reactions when encountering incidents," he said.
Tian Shui (right) plays the role of daughter Anna in the two-hander theater piece.
"Forming a personal expression while being as close to reality as possible has always been the style I pursue in my performances," he added.
Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center veteran actress Tian Shui will play the role of daughter Anna.
Tian is no stranger to Alzheimer's, as her mother had the disease before passing away last year.
"Anna's relationship with her father is very much like my sister's relationship with our mother," Tian said.
"The daughter is the one who takes care of the father most often, but that also means they will have the most conflicts," she said. "My life experience can help me understand the role better in the play."
Performance info
Dates: July 2 7 August 11, 2pm, 7:30pm
Tickets: 280-680 yuan
Venue: Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center 上海话剧艺术中心
Address: 288 Anfu Rd 安福路288号
Source: Shanghai Daily
