4th Tour of The Acclaimed, Final Bow

In 2024, Ming Hua Yuan celebrates its 95th anniversary. Presenting 4th tour performance of Final Bow

paying homage to the golden years of GeZaiXi (Taiwanese opera).

Honouring the resilience of our predecessors who braved adversity, Expressing gratitude to the thespians and crews of GeZaiXi,

who, against the relentless march of time, remain steadfast, unyielding to defeat.

With this production, we hope to lead the audience through time, to relish the tapestry of emotions woven over a century of GeZaiXi.

Encapsulating an Era within a Play

“Final Bow” is adapted from the award-winning short story by Hung Hsing-Fu. It is a story depicting an era of Taiwanese opera through a mixture of modern stage play and insertion of traditional theatre performances within the play.

Director Huang Chih-Kai uses comedic elements to reshape what was original a tragedy. By interlacing main narrative with scenes of a play within a play, skewing the play more ridiculous and off-track performance of “Chen Shimei and Qin Xianglian” to absurdities with each iteration. The setting is Taiwan in the 60s and 70s, when the film and television industry greatly impacted Taiwanese opera of that era, forcing theatre troupes from their heydays of performing in the comfort of indoor theatres into touring various open-air venues. In that era of rapid changes, where both performers and troupe operators were caught off guard, a tragedy yet ridiculously funny drama was woven together with elements both on and off the stage, reflecting the reality of that time.

The Performance has taken its final bow, but has it finally bowed out? The ruthlessness and speed at which the new replaces the old is staggering. Faced with the frustrations and helplessness that comes with the changes, there are still those who choose to stand firm in the torrent of times, refusing defeat…