Backstage

Finding oneself in Sarah Kane - Interview with ITI's 2020 graduating cohort (Part 2)

11 Mar 2020
Interview by Sam Kee
Photos courtesy of Intercultural Theatre Institute

The graduating students of Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) are presenting 4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane this year. Sarah Kane's final play, 4.48 Psychosis, takes on a unique form that tries to communicate the experience of suicidal despair. They will be putting a fresh, multicultural spin on this modern classic, directed by award-winning director and ITI alumnus Andy Ng Wai-shek.

We spoke to Kyongsu Kathy Han and Li-chuan Lin (a.k.a. Aki) who have had previous encounters with Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis.

0 20200311 interview iti 448 psychosis 04

1. What did Sarah Kane’s work (specifically 4.48 Psychosis) do for you when you first picked it up?

Li-chuan Lin (Aki): 我第一次看到《4.48 精神崩潰》的劇本,是六年前,還在台灣高雄的一個劇團擔任行政工作時。那時劇團正在製作這齣劇,因此當時身為宣傳行銷的我也看了劇本,並進了排練場看了幾次排練。第一次看到這個本時,內心相當的震撼並感到共鳴。因為我一直有情緒的問題:敏感、易哭、憂鬱、焦慮。所以當我看到莎拉肯恩的文字時,我第一個反應是:我懂,我明白,我知道那種不安、疼痛、與孤獨。其實也有一種「被了解」的感受。裏頭有好幾句話,例如「我知道這不是我的錯,但你一直這樣對我說,我開始覺得這都是我的錯」或「制約我/見證我/注視我/愛我」等等,都是我想說出口但卻無法出口的話。渴望被愛、被救贖、被看見、被理解的心情,是我看完劇本時一直縈繞在我心頭的想法與願望。當時很希望看到這齣劇的人可以了解,類似我們這樣敏感憂鬱的人,我們期望有人拉一把的心情。

Translation:
I first picked up this script 6 years ago when I worked in a theatre company as a marketing person in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I have been suffering from emotional problems: I am sensitive, depressed, anxious and cry easily. Hence, I was shocked when I first saw Sarah Kane’s text, the thought in my mind was: I know. I understand. I know the agitations, the pain and the loneliness. I also had a feeling that "someone understands me". There were a few lines in the text, such as "I know it's not my fault. You've told me that so often I'm beginning to think it is my fault." or "Validate me/ Witness me/ See me/ Love me", which were the words that I wanted to express but couldn't. 

To be loved. To be saved. To be seen. To be understood. Those were the thoughts or wishes that I had after I read the script. Also, I wish those who come to watch this play will come to understand that there is a group of people who are sensitive and depressed and hope that someone will extend a helping hand to them.

Kyongsu Kathy Han: The words on the page stirred something deep inside me. Not everything made sense, yet there was a deep understanding. The script felt heavy in my hands, and I knew I couldn’t take anything for granted when it came to Sarah Kane’s last work, her last human effort to connect with the world.

0 20200311 interview iti 448 psychosis 05

2. Did you have any previous experiences in watching Sarah Kane’s work or any adaptations of 4.48 Psychosis performed by others? How was the experience different from your current experience interpreting it?

Kyongsu: I did a production of 4.48 Psychosis when I was at LASALLE, directed by Natalie Hennedige. So I was quite baffled when I heard that I would be doing 4.48 again at ITI. I recalled the intensity of the work, the deep searching I had to go through as an actor and as a person. Truth be told, I felt daunted by the task of doing it again. But throughout the process, I began to appreciate this unforeseen re-encounter. The interpretation is different, the ensemble is different. And though I am constant, I too have changed. It was interesting to see what has changed and what still remains the same. The dualities were rich, and I learned again.  

Aki: 有兩次。一次是在2013年,第二次是2014年,兩次都是在台灣工作的劇團所製作的演出。

第一個很不一樣的是語言。在台灣當然是使用中文演出。中文是我的母語,是我可以很快吸收理解並反饋的語言,因此當初在看台灣的演出時,是可以很迅速地從語言中得到訊息,並再以融合演員的肢體表現、燈光音效等等的效果去創造出我的觀戲經驗。

但這次則是多元語言的方式呈現,變得我無法從語言中馬上得到訊息,必須從聲音的語調、呼吸的變化、節奏的快慢等等來建構這個角色的心境。

考慮到的不再只是簡單的傳遞「文字」的訊息,而還要思考語言的「音樂性」。

翻譯也是這次我遇到的問題。英文的文本裡有許多獨特的節奏性,不論是母音子音押韻帶來的效果,或是特有的音節重複造成的狂躁感,這些是中文翻譯版本無法達到部分。因此要如何使用中文,但創造出類似的節奏感變成一個有趣的問題。

第二個是演員。之前看到的演出是兩位相似的女演員,共同完成這齣劇。她們就像是雙胞胎,或是一分兩半的星球,時而依賴,時而對抗,但共同的是圍繞著她們無法擺脫的問題。

但這次的製作,我們是四個來自不同國度、文化的演員。當然在整體的結構處理上當然也完全不同。但對我來說,雖然我們五個不論長相、聲音、動作習慣截然不同,但卻像是每個人心中都有不同的面相(無論是你想展項或無法展現的),說著共同的憂鬱與問問題。

Translation: 
I watched 4.48 Psychosis twice – the first time was in 2013 and the second time was in 2014. Both of them were productions of a theatre company in Taiwan that I worked for in that period. The first difference is language. The productions in Taiwan is in Mandarin, which is my mother tongue, so I can understand and make reflections easily and quickly. The second difference is the performers. The productions in Taiwan were performed by two actresses who looked like twins. They were one but performed as two bodies. They sometimes rely on each other, at other times they fought.

The performers for our 4.48 are from four different countries and cultures, so of course, there’s going to be a big difference. Our graduating piece combines 4 languages, so I am unable to infer too much too quickly from the languages since I don’t understand some of them. Therefore, we need to consider the tone of voice, the change of breath and the rhythm of speed to build our characters. We are not only thinking about the "information of words", but also "the musicality of language".

In my opinion, although we have different appearances, voices and physical work, we can treat that like the different perspectives (whether expressed or not) of a single person, speaking up in sync about depression and asking the same question. 

0 20200311 interview iti 448 psychosis 06

3. What did you imagine your role was when you approached this script? As the protagonist? Or perhaps as an onlooker? Why?

Kyongsu: When I read the script, I see a mirror reflecting Sarah Kane. The mirror cracks, and becomes shards of glass. Each shard reflects a part of Sarah Kane, and speaks. The shards are autonomous, yet not. They seek freedom, yet unity. I see myself as one of those shards.

Aki: 因為我有類似的憂鬱經驗,因此很自然的將自己帶入了主角的角度。覺得這就是一個人他最後的心聲,最後的呼救。

Translation:
As I had a similar experience with depression, it's easy for me to bring myself into the perspective of the protagonist. I feel this text is the final thought, the final crying of s/he.

4. Was there any difficult experiences to look within yourself while working with the script or with your director? How did you navigate that? And where do you wish to move towards?

Kyongsu: Andy (director) expressed that he wanted us to speak in our mother tongue. The concept of mother tongue has always been elusive to me. I am Korean Chinese mixed, but my passport states that I am Korean. At home, I speak Chinese with my half Korean mother, and Korean with my Taiwanese Chinese father. And despite being fully Asian, I speak English most fluently. So what is my mother tongue?

My actor training has been predominantly in English, and I’ve acted mostly in English. Yet, I have been told that my energy or presence changes when I act and speak in Korean. More… authentic. What does that mean?

I think I came to ITI in search of answers to these questions. I wanted to embrace complexities, and test the bounds of human expression and interaction. And this production’s multilingual approach has given me the opportunity to do exactly that. We’re taking the consciousness of Sarah Kane in her last moments, and unpacking it in four different languages. How the audience receives it… I hope to find out.

Aki: 我覺得最困難的部分是,如何將自己與角色保持距離。誠如上述所說,我很自然地將自己的心境和過去經驗放入的劇本中,但很容易就進入自我沉溺的境界,或是變成了「我」在劇中,而不是角色。如何解決這個問題,很有趣的是,我採用我心理諮商師的建議。

他建議我,第一次練習時,百分之百的運用我的過去經驗,想哭就哭,想生氣就生氣,想痛就痛。等哭過了,痛過了,冷靜下來,再回頭看看剛剛五分鐘發生什麼事。我為什麼哭,為什麼生氣,分析當時的情境與理由,會較理智地看待這個讓我崩潰的狀況。之後的練習,依舊連結過去經驗,但因為我已經梳理過讓我難過的理由,所以可以漸漸地釋懷,仍然保留當下的情緒,但可以漸漸將自己與角色做個分離。未來希望,在表演上我能駕馭我的情緒,而不是讓我的情緒主宰我。

Translation:
The difficult part for me is how to keep a distance between the character and myself. Like I mentioned earlier, I put myself in the script easily because I had a similar experience. However, it became a situation where I indulged in my own memories. It became "I" was in the play, instead of the "character". 

How did I solve this problem? My counsellor had an interesting suggestion, he advised that I could use 100% of my experience and memory in the first practice. I could cry, feel angry, feel pain. Then after that, think about what happened in 5 minutes and to analyse the reason why I cried and felt pain, until I could reasonably see and understand the situation I went through. After I've cleaned and arranged my mind, in the later practices, even if I had brought my previous experiences, I can separate myself from the character slowly. 

In the future, I wish I can control my emotions in acting, instead of letting my emotions control me.

------

At the end of the interview, Aki hopes that audience would realise that everyone can have a dark and weak side, but we can face it and accept it. She also wants the audience to know that persons with depression or suicidal tendencies are not crazy or weak – they want to live – but they’ll need a lot of help and a hug. Kyongsu ends on a powerful note, hoping the audience would see/feel their sincerity.

------

Read Part 1 of the interview!

------

4.48 Psychosis

by Intercultural Theatre Institute
Date: 12 - 14 Mar 2020
Venue: Drama Centre Black Box
Read more about the show →

  • 4.48 Psychosis

    Theatre 12 - 14 Mar 2020 ITI presents a fresh take on 4.48 Psychosis, Sarah Kane's ground-breaking final work. Combining lyricism with dark humour, 4.48 Psychosis...
    Drama Centre Black BoxDrama Centre Black Box

KEEP READING


advertisewithus