thetheatretimes.com: Even with solid training in xiqu, or Chinese opera, Yu-Hsuan Chou tried to leave traditions behind when she first entered contemporary theatre. “I was there to learn how to write musicals. What’s the point of returning to the old stuff?” Yet, unlearning might not be the most clever move for her, in hindsight, since her plays are often praised for their capacity to reinvent old forms in new styles. “Why did I want to tie my own hands then?” she asks self-deprecatingly.
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I found this interview with Yu-Hsuan Chou inspiring, especially her perspective on the relationship between traditional and contemporary theatre. I liked her idea of being “a fish swimming across two tanks,” because it captures how an artist can have multiple styles and not just choose one. The idea also recognizes that traditional forms can continue to evolve when they interact with contemporary ideas, audiences, and other theatrical styles. After all, people constantly continue to do Shakespeare.
I appreciated her thoughts about resisting categorization and her practice of combining xiqu, musicals, contemporary drama, different languages, and adaptations of existing stories. This shows that theatre is all about artists being willing to experiment.
Tradition and innovation do not necessarily have to be opposites. Chou’s approach demonstrates that respecting tradition can also mean finding new ways to transform and reinterpret it. I think we could all benefit from doing this a little more. As an artist, I’m always looking for the “type of theatre” I want to make. But the most beautiful things can come from experimentation.
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