華文離散語境下的李爾王改編

Abstract

全球性的莎士比亞逐漸變成一種方法論來考量跨文化劇場的文化場域。出於對劇場中挪用“他者”的興趣，在英語世界之外改編莎劇一直吸引著國際關注。本碩士論文將探討在變幻的全球化背景下三位導演的五部《李爾王》改編，包括吳興國的《李爾在此》（2001），王景生的《李爾》（1997）和《李爾夢》（2012），以及謝家聲的《李爾的女兒們》（2003）和《李爾王》（2006）。 上述五部作品激發我對於這個巧合的思考：為什麼三位導演幾乎同時在21世紀之交選擇了改編《李爾王》；莎士比亞與中華文化如何影響離散華人導演；全球化如何加速了人口和文化產品的流動。儘管吳興國來自台灣，王景生來自新加坡，謝家聲來自英國，他們所改編的《李爾王》在國族認同，家庭抗爭和個人歸屬感等議題的探討上都有相似之處。“中國”和“莎士比亞”這兩個觀念在現今的社會背景下逐漸變得不穩定，它們所涵括的“家”和“無家”的內容也重新得到詮釋。我將以“家”作為我的出發點來探討國族，家庭和個人之間的關係。我會在原著的基礎上分析改編作品，並且著重討論身份危機，反抗父權，和語言困惑等議題。導演在改編作品時所面臨的藝術困境也將被討論。

Global Shakespeare has gradually become a methodology to consider the cultural location of intercultural theatre. Adapting Shakespearean plays outside Anglo-centric communities has attracted international attention because of appropriating the “Other” in the theatre. This thesis discusses five King Lear adaptations by three directors in the Chinese diaspora situated in the changing context of globalization; they are Wu Hsing-kuo’s Lear Is Here (2001), Ong Keng Sen’s Lear (1997) and Lear Dreaming (2012), and David Ka-Shing Tse’s Lear’s Daughters (2003) and King Lear (2006). These adaptations invoke me to speculate on the concurrence of why Wu, Ong, and Tse simultaneously chose King Lear around the turn of the 21st century; second, how Shakespeare serves their need for representing the imaginations about “China”; and lastly, how globalization accelerates the mobility of people and cultural productions. Though Wu is from Taiwan, Ong from Singapore, and Tse from Britain, they share similarities in evoking issues such as national inclination, household struggle, and personal belonging connoted in Shakespeare’s King Lear. Since the concepts of “China” and “Shakespeare” have been destabilized in the contemporary social context, they both face reinterpretations just as “home” and “homelessness” now receive new connotations. I will define “home” as a concentric notion that revolves around the nation, household and individual. Moreover, I will apply contextual and textual analyses to interpret each adaptation based on the Bard’s text, along with articulating issues such as identity crisis, patriarchal struggles, and linguistic confusions. I will investigate the translated scripts, theatrical effects, and a range of artistic dilemmas involving the five productions as well.