Geography: Asia > Eastern Asia > Taiwan
Year: 2025
Produced by: Yang Ensemble
Creative Team: Written by Wei Yu-chia; new production developed by Yang Ensemble; performed by a four-person ensemble in Taiwanese with Japanese and Mandarin
Synopsis: Mama Singer reconstructs the lives of Taiwanese women working in Tokyo’s Kabukichō during the 1980s and 1990s. Wei Yu-chia developed the work after field research in the district, where Taiwanese-speaking migrant communities had created communities and networks. The production foregrounded Taiwanese rather than Mandarin, making language part of the migration history represented onstage. Women working abroad navigate motherhood and the pressure to maintain appearances for relatives at home. Through the use of multi-rolling, experiences unfold allowing adult memories to be refracted through children’s perspectives. The production recovers an overlooked history of Taiwanese labour migration to Japan and demonstrates that East Asian migration has long operated through routes that do not involve the West.
Source: PAR Performing Arts Magazine, feature on the 2025 production: https://par.npac-ntch.org/tw/article/doc/HDU3ZWU8XC AQ News, production background and language information: https://www.aq-news.com/post/20251217001