R.I.P Papa
入土为安
Incubated at Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre SDAC-LAB
#documentary theatre #hospice care
“Rest in peace, Papa.” is a documentary theatre project triggered by my restless experience watching my grandpa’s prolonged journey to death. “I look at him, standing alone in the middle of the room, his limbs shaking, his mouth watering, his face looking lost. He is stuck in a body yet to perish, yet he is no longer aware of his imprisonment.”
Based on verbatim materials (family recordings, videos and diaries) and devised by the ensemble, we try to re-imagine a narrative different from his formal eulogy. It dives into the dying man’s internal world, explores the unvoiced tension within the family, and unpacks the generational gap hardened by speeding socio-historical advance. Meanwhile, the innocence of these young performers shed some interesting light on this weighty subject. Their particular handling of hospice tasks, alienated role-playing, and spontaneous improvisation enrich the show with lyrical variations and intertextual reading.
As we gaze into the eyes of “papa”, we not only see him but many like him. What do we want to see when we see them? What does their existence mean to us?
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2021.9 Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre
CREDITS
Concept and direction: Selena LU
Devising and performance: Cuixi LIN, Rae XU, Eva LOU, TANG Chen, Selena LU, Zixing GUO
Videography: XIAO Meiyue
Sound design: Karp
Lighting design: LI Yangyang/ Qier LUO
Stage Management: Shiyu CAO
Producing: Ophelia HUANG
Incubated by SDAC Lab
Based on verbatim materials (family recordings, videos and diaries) and devised by the ensemble, we try to re-imagine a narrative different from his formal eulogy. It dives into the dying man’s internal world, explores the unvoiced tension within the family, and unpacks the generational gap hardened by speeding socio-historical advance. Meanwhile, the innocence of these young performers shed some interesting light on this weighty subject. Their particular handling of hospice tasks, alienated role-playing, and spontaneous improvisation enrich the show with lyrical variations and intertextual reading.
As we gaze into the eyes of “papa”, we not only see him but many like him. What do we want to see when we see them? What does their existence mean to us?
CREDITS
Concept and direction: Selena LU
Devising and performance: Cuixi LIN, Rae XU, Eva LOU, TANG Chen, Selena LU, Zixing GUO
Videography: XIAO Meiyue
Sound design: Karp
Lighting design: LI Yangyang/ Qier LUO
Stage Management: Shiyu CAO
Producing: Ophelia HUANG
Incubated by SDAC Lab
PERFORMANCE HISTORY
2021.9
@ Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre
2022.11
@ Shanghai Theatre YOUNG, Green Box
2024.3
@ Guangzhou YUNMU Theatre
2021.9
@ Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre
2022.11
@ Shanghai Theatre YOUNG, Green Box
2024.3
@ Guangzhou YUNMU Theatre