Resources

Texts

• Wu’s Lear is Here English & Chinese script
• Ong’s Lear multilingual script (Rio Kishida, scriptwriter)
• King Lear Text

Essays & Interviews

• Essay by Alexa Huang, George Washington University, “Shakespeare, Performance, and Autobiographical Interventions”
• An Interview with Wu Hsing-kuo by Alexa Huang, George Washington University
• Essay by Li Lan Yong, National University of Singapore, “Shakespeare, Asian Actors and Intercultural Scholarship”

Wu’s Shakespeare productions (and date of premiere)

Kingdom of Desire [Macbeth], 1986

War and Eternity [Hamlet], 1990

Lear is Here, 2001

The Tempest, 2004

Key artistic influences on Lear is Here

Martha Graham (1894-1991):  Founding figure in Modern Dance, Wu’s training and performance in modern dance was heavily influenced by Graham’s practice and ideas

Kursowa, Akira (1910-1998):  Film director (Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood [Castle of the Spider’s Web], an adaptation of Macbeth). Kurosawa was an important  influence on Wu’s Kingdom of Desire [Macbeth], 1985.

Mnouchkine, Ariane (1939-   ):  Director of Theatre de Complicité, Paris.  A leading avant-garde director internationally, Mnouchkine encouraged Wu to stage Lear is Here.

Zhou, Zengrong (1927-2000): Wu’s teacher and mentor in Beijing opera.

Chinese Theater Terms