Playwright, Director and Translator, Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land
One of the most celebrated theatre artists in the Chinese-speaking world, Lai is artistic director of Performance Workshop in Taipei and Festival Director of China’s Wuzhen Theatre Festival.
Writer/director: More than 30 plays, including premieres of A Dream Like a Dream; The Village; Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land; That Evening, We Performed Crosstalk; Ménage à 13; Millennium Teahouse; Like Shadows; Red Sky; Crosstalk Travelers; I Me He Him; Mumble Jumble; Sand and a Distant Star and more. Other premieres: Open the Door, Sir!, Lear and the Thirty-seven-fold Path of a Bodhisattva (Hong Kong); Singapore Impromptu (Singapore); Light Years (Beijing); Dream Walk (Wuzhen Festival). Other: Journey to the West (opera), Deaflympics Opening/Closing Ceremonies.
Awards: National Arts Award, Taiwan (twice); Presidential Medal of Honor of the Republic of China; Chinese Theatre Hall of Fame; Man of the Year, Cultural Affairs, Newsweek China; Taipei Cultural Award.
Film awards: For The Peach Blossom Land: Silver Award, Tokyo International Film Festival; Golden Horse Award, Taipei Film Festival; Caligari Award, Berlin International Film Festival; Best Film and Best Director, Fipresci Award, Singapore International Film Festival.
Education: PhD, University of California, Berkeley.