What could be the contemporary theater of Asia that the whole region could share? We don’t know yet. Each of the three programs I propose this year, however, may suggest a lead to tackle this big question from two angles.
In today’s global system of capitalism and highly developed information society, the whole region of Asia has come to have a common ground of urban society to a certain extend. While Hickey Cancun Tornado and Girl X talk about the independence of an individual in a mature society, I believe they both may hint at the “now” of the entire Asia.
On the other hand, the more common ground we share, the more important and critical it must become for us to be aware of the cultural diversity and traditions of different areas in Asia. The word “contemporary” does not necessarily mean it’s all the same across Asia although we live in the same present time. In an attempt to fully understand this aspect of the issue, no play is more thought-provoking than the SCOT’s production of The Trojan Women that layers the ancient Greece with today’s wars, and reflect the Japanese traditional values upon the present realities of the world.