| Art Director & Writer: Li Yuliang
| Director: Johnny Tam
| Composer: Zen Lu
| Macao Cultural Centre Theatre 2011
Thorough Feminism
— Reflections on the 2011 New Edition of Nirodha
Several years ago, Macau’s Hiu Kok Drama Associationstaged its annual production Nirodha(Extinction Truth), and I was fortunate to attend this spectacular performance. Years later, the Macau Youth Theatre Troupe invited Tan Zhiquan—a director trained at the Shanghai Theatre Academy—to revisit Nirodha. For Tan, this was a significant challenge: the original version’s acclaim inevitably invited comparisons, while the play’s profound Buddhist themes demanded nuanced interpretation. Moreover, actors faced immense tests in spanning time, age, and psychological states. Thus, this restaging navigated a delicate balance between innovation and tradition.
Nirodha recounts a car accident on a moonlit night, where two women engage in a psychological duel in a desolate wilderness to protect themselves, exposing human greed, delusion, and emptiness. The haunting, shadowy atmosphere forms the play’s tonal foundation. Tan Zhiquan’s reinterpretation breathes new life into the work, most strikingly through set design, lighting, and spatial choreography. The original director, Wu Xi (a renowned mainland director now teaching at Shenzhen University), masterfully employed visual illusions to amplify chilling tension. Tan, however, integrates “ghostly” techniques with equal finesse—particularly in a role-swapping scene where a character appears to stand on scaffolding, only for the audience to discover, as containers rotate, that they are trapped within a cage. The lighting design further propels the narrative, intensifying the play’s oppressive mood.
In today’s society, feminism gains increasing traction, elevating women’s roles across domains. As depicted in the play, Michelle embodies a strong woman—dominant in school, work, and family. Conversely, Ann, though suppressed by Michelle in reality, ultimately leads her toward ruin, delivering a brutal revenge. The sole male character, Alex, serves merely as a catalyst; his ineffectual portrayal diminishes masculinity’s presence. In the new edition, even this residual male role is cross-dressed by female actors, pushing feminist expression to its logical extreme.
Undoubtedly, Tan’s abstract approach prioritizes psychological consciousness—whether of the director, actors, or characters—through visual and atmospheric devices like movable containers, blurred scaffolding, and dynamic lighting. For audiences familiar with the original, this restaging offers unexpected surprises; for the director, it represents liberation from constraints, enabling unrestrained creativity. (text/ Care Action Macao 2011)
