Geography: Asia > Eastern Asia > Taiwan
Year: 2017
Produced by: Theatre Fire Thieves, with the National Museum of Taiwan Literature
Creative Team: Written by Shen Wan-ting; directed by Hsieh Tung-ning; performed by an ensemble including Vietnamese new-resident performer Chen Qiu-li
Synopsis: Qibla centres a migrant caregiver, Nadi, who cares for an elderly, disabled grandmother who is affected by dementia. Complicating the distinction between paid care and family relationships, she is the only one who can communicate with the grandmother. Nadi’s desire to return home complicates the dependency that has developed within Taiwanese expectations of the household relations. Migrant workers are expected to create intimate relationships while remaining legally temporary. The production examines care work as a form of transnational emotional labour.
Source: National Culture and Arts Foundation, production archive: https://archive.ncafroc.org.tw/result?id=ab0ba9e8ec734a3eb5056470feb1d59d Taiwan Ministry of Culture, premiere and production information: https://www.moc.gov.tw/News_Content.aspx?n=105&s=53905