MENG Theatre Studio
Adapted from Yu Hua
Directed by Meng Jinghui
WHEN:
November 25, 2022, 19:30
November 26, 2022, 14:30
November 26, 2022, 19:30
November 27, 2022, 19:30
WHERE: Wuzhen Grand Theatre
Duration: 130 minutes (without intermission)
Performed in Chinese, with English subtitles
Reviews:
With Ago, Lai continues a life-long project of spiritual and artistic transformation. Those who know Lai's work will spy familiar themes – of kinship, historical change, religious quest, catastrophe, as well as repair. They will also spy familiar forms, most notably Lai's signature circular stage, which surrounds and embraces the audience seated within… Featuring forms from a pan-Asian world, Lai mixes story and image, tragedy and comedy, the historical and the contemporary in a theater that feels both fantastical and familiar at once… Stan Lai is of course renowned throughout the world as one of the most innovative artists working on the international stage. With Ago, we have new reasons to understand why…
– Shannon Jackson (Professor, U.C. Berkeley, former Associate Vice Chancellor, Arts + Design), “AGO: Theatre for the 21st Century,” Commemorative Booklet on Ago, Shanghai: Theatre Above, 2019
It is almost inconceivable to imagine that there exists an artistic target of equal height, or even higher, after one has scaled the Mount Everest of theatre-creating achievements. Yet here it is, Ago, the perfect companion piece to A Dream Like a Dream, all but in name.
– Raymond Zhou, Twin Peaks, 2019
The array of characters, ranging from humans to animals to Time and Space, in their migration from the snowy mountains of the Tibetan plateau to the Twin Towers of New York City, composes an awe-inspiring symphony of past, present, and future.
– Tao Qingmei, General Introduction, Selected Plays of Stan Lai
(University of Michigan Press, 2021)
The complex form, structure, and content of A Dream and Ago, two epic plays 20 years apart, mark Lai's maturity, his original aesthetic vision, highly sophisticated playwriting, and profound concerns for life.
– Chiayi Seetoo, "An Illusion That Mirrors a Dream:
The Storytelling of Stan Lai," The Drama Review, 65:2 (T250) 2021
About Ago
AGO is a special theatrical journey, in which fate, time, space, man, beasts and nature are woven together in a mad dance between the real and the surreal, challenging perceptions through the lens of humanity's triumphs and failures, glory and folly. This theatrical tour de force by playwright-director Stan Lai can be seen as a sister piece to his epoch making A Dream Like A Dream (2000), having in common their breadth, depth and length, and sharing the special panoramic "lotus pond" stage configuration.
AGO takes Lai's creative journey into a new realm. The main characters in this six-hour work pass through almost three decades, first moving from the deep mountains of Yunnan to the gritty streets of Manhattan, then to the high mountains of India, and perhaps beyond, to a Pure Realm that even legends aren't sure exists. Among them are thinkers and idealists, and others who are simply living their lives. They face catastrophes, one after another, and are all survivors, seeking the meaning of existence. Here, not only "people" are seeking meaning. AGO offers cross-species dialogue—between humans and animals, mythical and imaginary animals, aliens, and even abstract concepts. There is a character that can see the entire past—"ago"— a self-proclaimed prophet, and another, perhaps genuine, who sees a beautiful, pure land in his mind that he wishes to make known and to lead everyone to.
Performed by Stan Lai's acclaimed ensemble from Theatre Above, with the addition of celebrated actress Hao Lei in the role of Pema, and pop star Jason Zhang as Dorje, AGO represents a theatre master at the pinnacle of his craft, an artist-philosopher's mature musings on life, time and fate.
Credits
Playwright / Director: Stan Lai
Cast:
Hao Lei as Pema
Zhang Jie as Dorje
Wang Meng as Strong
Liu Wanling as Space
Dou Jin as JJ
Jin Jing as Caiyun
Yang Yuguang as Tashi
Zong Juntao as Sonam, Padmasambhava, Pigeon, and others
Gu Xuewei as Emma, Mrs. Wang, Snow Lion Attendant, and others
Ding Hui as Riley, Groom, and others
Yang Yi as Sage, and others
Feng Li as Time, Snow Lion, Meiling, Linda the Ra t, and others
Yang Zhibin as Chance, Dog Breeder, Harry the Rat, Talk Show Host, and others
Zhao Yimin as Deke and Deke 2, and others
Liu Yilin as Old Man, Jigme the Bear, and others
Li Xi as Old Lady, Tianqin, Ginger the Squirrel, and others
Ding Shanshan as Drolma, Prayer Wheel Woman, and others
Chen Guohui as Hostel Manager, Factory Line Boss, Young Tashi, and others
Ma Jingwen as Senji, Khandr o the Deer, Lucy the Cat, and others
Yuan Xinli as Tsering the Wolf, Young Dorje, No Name Dog, and others
Qi Yue as the Musician, and others
Ma Yunbao as Abominable Snowman, and others
Li En as Prayer Wheel Woman, Snow Lion Attendant, and others
Scenic and Costume Designs: Sandra Woodall
Lighting Design: Michael Lee-Zen Chien
Projection Design: Ethan Wang
Music composed: Hu Shuai,Music improvised: Qi Yue
Lyrics: Stan Lai
Poster Design: Huang Hai
English surtitles: based on Stan Lai's own translation; Lissa Tyler Renaud, Editor and Dramaturg
Senior Producer: Nai-chu Ding
Producer: Vanessa Yeo
About Stan Lai
Stan Lai was called "the best Chinese language playwright and director in the world" (BBC), "Asia's top theatre director" (Asiaweek), and "Asia's flagship playwright" (China Daily). Since 1984, Lai's plays have greatly influenced theatre in the Chinese-language world, including his most famous works, Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, The Village and his epic 8-hour A Dream Like A Dream, which was called by China Daily "possibly the greatest Chinese-language play since time immemorial." Among other awards, Lai received a star on the Walk of Fame at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. Twelve of his plays will be published in his own English translations this year in the United States.
Lai is the Artistic Director of Performance Workshop, Taiwan; and Theatre Above, Shanghai, a venue dedicated to the performance of his works. He is Co-founder and Festival Director of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival.
About Performance Workshop & Theatre Above
Performance Workshop (PW) was founded in 1984 in Taipei by Stan Lai, Lee Li-chun and Lee Kuo-hsiu, with a mission to create new works for the Chinese language stage. Many of Stan Lai's earlier plays were created with this Taiwan theatre group, with Nai-Chu Ding producing. In all, PW has produced over 50 original new works, many of which have become legends of the modern Chinese-language theatre.
Founded in 2015, Theatre Above is a 699-seat venue in the heart of Shanghai, designed by artistic director Stan Lai and dedicated to staging his own body of works for the theatre, as well as works new in the Chinese speaking world. The theatre has since established itself as one of Shanghai's leading venues for dramatic art, with its own acting company forming the nucleus of many new works. Nai-chu Ding leads the production and management team.
Together, venue and company finally realize the dream of producing Stan Lai's many works in rotating repertory.