Comments on the Finalist

 "White snake?!" The final struggle of the clowns makes an unexpected breakthrough with its selection of creative material for theatre/theatrical clowning as well as the physical and vocal performance it brings. With careful and thorough imitation practice, the work leads performers to revisit/encounter the context and system of Eastern body culture. In this regard, the work possesses groundbreaking implication for the development of Western clown performance in Taiwan. In terms of interpreting and enacting “the story of the white snake,” this version surely builds on top of a long tradition and unveils a new direction, moving away from existing interpretations and ideas while adopting a seemingly effortless approach to powerfully and insightfully break new ground. As an interdisciplinary work, it can even be viewed as an innovative creation that merges different disciplines. Therefore, “White snake?!” is for sure not “the final struggle” of an individual theatre company, but instead a trailblazing work that integrates specific Eastern and Western physical performance traditions. (Commentator / CHANG Chi-Feng)

Artwork Introduction

To produce White snake?! The final struggle of the clowns, Theatre De La Sardine spent two years exploring the iconic section, known as “Touring the Lake,” in The Legend of the White Snake, which has been performed in various versions in different Asian cultures. Thinking about integrating Beijing Opera and clown theater that are essentially dissimilar, the theatre company aims to represent the spirit and value of both genres without favoring or downplaying either. This work adopts the play-within-a-play approach to showcase the traditional elements in The Legend of the White Snake while exploring the emotions and dramatic power in Beijing Opera through clowning. All in all, the work resembles “a group of clowns paying utmost respect and admiration to the art of Beijing Opera.”

About the Artist

Theatre De La Sardine was founded in March 2005. The name of the theatre company is derived from the French word, “saltimbanque,” which means “travelling entertainer, public performer, acrobat, street entertainer or clown.” They hope to combine elements such as mask, clown, dance and song, mime, object and acrobatics with street theatre, circus and physical theatre to explore new forms of performing arts, creating a popular theatre emblematic of the contemporary East. Utilizing theatrical forms that are friendly to everyone, the theatre company turns absurdities and poeticness in real life into performances to speak about subtle feelings in life as well as engage in social issues intricately related to our life.