A Dream Like A Dream

Performance Schedule

2021.3.4-3.7

About A Dream Like A Dream

In 2000, Stan Lai traveled to Bodh Gaya, India and one of the books he brought for the trip was The Tibetan Book of the Dead. It was a book he had read many times, but the story of a young doctor’s encounter with death on her first day had never seemed to leave an impression on Lai’s memory. Until now. It was a moment of inspiration when Lai read the passage and instantly stories of other people began surging toward him, and he was able to construct a free-flowing narrative with all those tales. The next day, sitting under a bodhi tree in the afternoon, Lai wrote down all his ideas on paper with an unstoppable torrent of creativity. The sun had just set when he finished writing the piece and on the paper he wrote, as a closing line, “There is no more light.”

An eight-hour epic, A Dream Like A Dream was a huge undertaking and presented daunting challenges for the cast, the crew, and the audience alike. Back then, few people had thought it possible for this titan of a play to go through development stages at UC Berkeley, Taipei National University of the Arts, and Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, and blossomed all the way into its current form. 2020 marks the twentieth anniversary of the piece, and the Dream continues.

A landmark 8-hour epic by the preeminent playwright-director of Chinese language theatre, Stan Lai, this epic work changes the paradigm of theatre experience, not only in the richness, depth and multi-layers of its story, but in the actual experience of the performance itself, which places the audience in the center of the action, with scenes unfolding all around. It is like watching 4 stages surrounding you at the same time.

"In a story, someone had a dream; in that dream, someone told a story." These are the opening lines of this watershed production and a key to the layers of story that unfold in this complex yet highly accessible epic work.

Stories within stories; dreams within dreams. A story about a doctor; a story about a patient who is facing an undiagnosable illness, and his relationship with both a lonely waitress in Paris and an old woman living secretly in Shanghai, who when young met a French diplomat who married her and took her to France, where she lived in a chateau near a lake, learning to paint...A train wreck, a boat on the seas carrying strange passengers...Recurring patterns of violence and love; a complex web of extraordinary people, past and present, and the extraordinary way in which their lives have been intricately linked together.

Synopsis

On her first day at work, a young doctor, who has just graduated from medical school, finds herself face to face with death – four out of five patients in her ward died. It comes as quite a shock as she realizes that none of her professional training at school prepared her for the moment. The patients are dying in unspeakable pain and fear, yet there seems to be nothing she can do to help.

Her cousin speaks of an “exchange therapy” from the ancient traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, which can be of tremendous help to people nearing the end of the life. The therapy can be an extremely daunting task and is never easily achieved. However, listening to the patients’ life stories can also greatly relieve their pain and fear, giving them much needed comfort when faced with the imminent threat of death. The stories from these dying patients turn out to be filled with incredible wisdom, and the narratives themselves are of great therapeutic value as well.

The young doctor thus decides to listen to Patient Number Five, the only remaining patient, tell his life story. And that’s where a dream like a dream begins.

An eight-hour epic, A Dream Like A Dream is Stan Lai’s theatrical masterpiece!

“A once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience!”

“A spiritual journey that will leave you entranced!”

Featuring a cast of 30 performers, A Dream Like A Dream spans over 100 years of time and presents a vivid illustration of the human condition.

Written and Directed by Stan Lai

Senior Producer: Nai-chu Ding

Producer: Wang Keran

Scenic Design: Chang Che-long

Lighting Design: Lee-zan Chien

Music Design: Hu Shuai, Hong Yutong, Stan Lai

Graphic Design: Chen Jyun-yan

Executive Producer: Li Xiong 

Production Manager: Hong Dashan

Assistant Production Manager: Ye Yanling

Costume & Make-up Design: Timmy Yip

Scenic Design: Chang Che-long

Lighting Design: Lee-zan Chien

Original Music: Hu Shuai, Hong Yutong, Stan Lai

Floral Design: HAUS658

Movement Director & Choreographer: Wu-kang Chen

A Dream Like A Dream is produced and presented by Magnificent Culture Co., Beijing

Co-Producer: Performance Workshop (Hong Kong)

Co-Presenter: Theatre Above