The story unfolds in real-life settings with street theater
The story unfolds in real-life settings with street theater
2026-06-18
Have you ever heard of street theater? It’s a kind of play that takes place in public spaces like a street, with the story unfolding in real-life settings. Last year, the National Theater and Concert Hall made its first-ever street theater production with a Japanese director and a Taiwanese cast. In the streets of New Taipei’s Sanxia and Taipei’s Wanhua, the audience followed the lead actor to help an elderly neighbor find his missing wife. What is slowly revealed is a poignant story about dementia and how it affects the patients’ family and friends. Here’s our special report.
A large audience follows the lead actor on the streets and alleyways. With the plot of the play integrated with everyday life, the audience also becomes a part of the story. Yes, this is a theater production. But instead of the stage in a theater building, the plot unfolds right on the streets.
- You’re Big Nose.
- Big Nose.
- You’re the Big Nose that used to come to my home as a kid?
- It’s been so long, grandpa. How about this? I’ll help you find grandma. If we still can’t find her, then we’ll call the police.
- I’ll go over there myself.
- Take care, grandpa. Watch your steps and don’t rush.
As the story unfolds, the audience begins to understand that the main character A-jung has returned to his hometown, Sanxia in New Taipei as an adult. He bumps into the neighbor of his childhood home, an elderly man and helps him search for his wife, who has dementia.
- I wonder if you’ve seen a lost grandma. She was wearing yellow and carrying a red bag.
- Yes, I think I’ve seen her.
- It was right over there, near the bear statue when I saw her this morning.
- Yes, right there.
Every plot twist appears on the street corners. The scene changes not by shifting set pieces, but by traveling with the actors. The production took place in Sanxia’s Taipei University Special Zone, taking the story to the streets. It’s a play about dementia.
Tsai Min-ni
Assistant director
They need to help the grandpa find grandma, so the journey on foot begins. The male lead has to track down grandma in the place where he grew up with clues he gathers along the way. Through this production, we’re not only allowing the audience to immerse themselves into the plot in ten different settings, but also allow them to experience the Taipei University Special Zone.
We followed the theater company backstage, a week before the show was premiered, getting a glimpse of the rehearsals.
Naoki Sugawara
Director
I’m really excited to see what kind of work will be produced. It would be great if the audience and crew will enjoy themselves too.
Japanese theater director Naoki Sugawara was invited to produce the play on dementia with a Taiwanese team, titled “FormosArt: Night Never Gets Darker.”
Naoki Sugawara
Director
I believe the issues of dementia and aging societies can be shared with everyone in the community through theater. I hope to encourage the audience to think about how to solve the issues arising from dementia in the community through street theater. I also hope that the end of the play isn’t an end, but that the stories in the play can continue at the location where it took place.
- Hi grandma, are you alone?
- Excuse me. I’m grandma’s care companion. How can I help you?
- Oh, sorry. It’s just that there’s a grandpa asking me to look for his wife. She happens to be wearing yellow too, so I thought it was her.
- Why didn’t you call the police if you’re looking for her?
In order to find actors who can accurately portray dementia, casting took the production team almost a whole year.
Actor Huang Chiu-chin is 71 years old and plays an elderly woman with dementia. Her nuanced body language perfectly captures what it’s like to live with dementia. It’s because she had experience caring for elderly family members with this condition.
Huang Chiu-chin
Actor
It’s mainly because my husband had a stroke. He had vascular dementia. Later on, my mother also had Parkinson’s disease dementia, so she also developed dementia. I once had to take care of three family members. Now, two of them are gone. My 100-year-old father is still alive. I incorporate these experiences into my performance in the play.
Another cast member, Chang Cheng-I, like Huang, has real-life experience dealing with dementia in the family. In the play, he’s an elderly man taking care of his spouse with dementia.
Chang Cheng-I
Actor
My father-in-law passed away at the age of 96. He had dementia at 85. My father is still alive. He’s 97 years old now and also has dementia. In the beginning, their conditions were pretty mild, but gradually worsened. All I had to do in the play was to recall my experience with them and embody that naturally in the play.
The two actors brought their real-life experience into their performance. They’re not alone in having to take care of aging family members. In Taiwan, around 350,000 older adults suffer from dementia, the burden of care on their immediate family.
- Have you seen an old lady wearing yellow and carrying a yellow bag? She walked past here earlier. She’s been missing since this morning.
The main character A-jung is played by Talum Isbabanal. He’s the one leading the audience throughout the play and through the winding streets, in search of an old lady with dementia.
- I’m A-jung. Do you remember me? I used to visit your noodle shop often, and you’d make me noodles. Remember?
Talum Isbabanal
Actor
Our performance takes place in a real-life setting, so there’s no need to exaggerate anything. After the performance, a member of the audience came to me and said that they felt understood. For those who are unfamiliar with the subject matter, they’ll be prompted to think about elders in their families. Maybe this will change their attitude towards elder family members with chronic illnesses.
Talum Isbabanal used to work at a senior daycare center, so he’s very familiar with older adults. His role deals with feelings of anxiety and helplessness when looking for someone with dementia. His real-life experience makes his performance all the more convincing.
Through this production, street theater becomes a medium to advocate for issues in an aging society, thanks to the National Theater and Concert Hall’s FormosArt Initiative.
Liu Yi-ruu
NTCH General and Artistic Director
We have a relatively large outdoor production every year. At one point we wondered how we could go further instead of maintaining the same format. A large outdoor production can feel like staging fireworks. It’s brilliant for that one night. But what happens afterwards? Did we really make an impact on the local community?
The FormosArt Initiative was inaugurated in 2015, bringing stage productions out of stately performance theaters into cities and townships all over the country. But what more can be done for locals after the credits roll in? That seeded the FormosArt 2.0 Initiative and resulted in the very first street theater production in Taiwan.
Liu Yi-ruu
NTCH General and Artistic Director
We were really attracted to stage theater then, not only for its unique format, but also because dementia is something that occurs in our daily lives. And so we thought this topic must be explored in a way that’s close to our surroundings. Because the performance deals with something so mundane, it fully immerses the audience very easily.
The production took place in a new neighborhood and an old town: Sanxia in New Taipei and Wanhua in Taipei. In the future, it’s hoped that street theater can enter a greater number of neighborhoods and create stories that belong to the communities.
Liu Yi-ruu
NTCH General and Artistic Director
FormosArt 2.0 is special in that we invite local government to become co-producers. So they’re not just bringing in an audience. They’re more or less also involved in the production. And because local production teams are involved, they can replicate it in the future, whether on their own or with the local government.
- Cherish the opportunity right now to see those you hold dear, and tell them what you’ve yet to say to them.
Audience member
Watched the production
The whole play was really touching. As you walk with the cast, you’ll notice that you’ve walked past the older parts of Sanxia into the newer and bustling part. It also touches upon many issues related to societal aging. It really got me thinking how I should seize the day and cherish all that I have.
Audience member
Watched the production
I find the topic to be quite dark, but a play is another way to get to understand dementia.
Even a serious topic can be explored through a play, while keeping the audience grounded in reality. With the initiative, fiction and reality become one.
For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53
#NTCH #theater #streettheater #culture #taiwan #formosart
街道成舞台 「遊走劇」打破劇場高牆 讓人身歷其境
2026-06-18
誰說看表演，只在劇場裡正襟危坐？其實，平凡的街道也能搖身一變，成為劇場舞台！這個單元我們要帶您認識「遊走劇」的魅力。一齣由台日跨國合作的「遊走劇」，最近就將舞台、搬到新北的三峽，和台北的萬華老街。以「失智」為主題的演出，讓觀眾不再只是旁觀者，而是身歷其境，跟隨著演員、穿梭在街道巷弄中，一起尋找走失的阿嬤。除了讓人深刻體會失智症對家庭的衝擊與無力，真實的臨場感，更是傳統劇場難以取代的體驗。現在就邀請您一起進入，這齣相當特別的「遊走劇」。
一群人浩浩蕩蕩，跟著男主角穿梭大街小巷，戲劇融入日常生活的場景，而觀眾也走入劇中，成為故事的同行者，這不是傳統的舞台劇，而是一齣以遊走式演出的「遊走劇」。
- 你是大鼻子
- 大鼻子
- 你是小時候常來我家的大鼻子
- 阿公好久不見，阿公，這樣好不好，我幫你去找阿嬤，如果真的沒有找到，我們再去報警
- 我去那裡找
- 阿公你自己小心喔，你走路走慢一點
隨著劇情推演，觀眾逐漸看懂，男主角阿榮是一位返鄉青年，回到家鄉三峽，偶遇小時候的鄰居阿公，開始幫忙尋找，走失的失智阿嬤。
- 想要問你，不知道有沒有看到一個阿嬤，她走丟了，她穿黃色衣服，背一個紅色包包
- 我好像有看到過
- 就是這裡，這個熊的雕像，我早上看到她的時候
- 對，就是這裡
每一條巷弄，每一個轉角，都藏著伏筆，場景的轉換不靠舞台機關，需要觀眾和演員一同移動。劇團特地挑選，新北市三峽北大特區，大膽嘗試全新的戲劇演出，舞台是日常街景，主題更親民，講的是失智。
[[遊走劇助理導演 蔡旻霓]]
“因為要協助阿公找阿嬤，所以展開遊走式的旅程，男主角必須得要在有點熟悉又陌生，他成長的環境裡，一站一站的試著透過一些線索找到阿嬤，我們透過這十個場景裡帶著觀眾，不只是感受戲，也希望可以感受我們北大特區”
採訪團隊在正式演出前一週進入劇團幕後，記錄演員們場勘、走位、設備測試，一遍又一遍反覆檢討。
[[遊走劇導演 菅原直樹]]
“我真的很興奮，想看看會創造出什麼樣的作品，觀眾或是工作人員，如果可以樂在其中就太好了”
日本知名劇團導演 菅原直樹，受邀來台與台灣製作團隊合作，重新演繹以失智為主題的劇團作品《夜路不怕黑》。
[[遊走劇導演 菅原直樹]]
“失智症的問題，以及現在高齡化社會的各種問題，我覺得可以藉由戲劇的方式，跟社區的大家分享，希望藉由遊走劇的表演來思考，對於應對各種失智症問題，民眾如何與當地社區建立聯繫，我希望這部戲演完之後，不只是結束，而是希望戲裡的故事，能夠留在這裡延續下去。
- 阿嬤妳自己一個人
- 不好意思，我是阿嬤的居服員，你找阿嬤有什麼事
- 沒有啦，就是有一個阿公，請我幫忙找阿嬤，剛好他們都穿黃色的上衣，我就認錯
- 找人，怎麼沒有報警
為了要更貼近「失智」的真實樣貌，劇組在長達一年的選角上，煞費苦心
71歲的黃秋謹，飾演一位罹患失智症的阿嬤，她以細膩的肢體語言，重現失智長者的真實生活，因為在她的現實人生中，也曾照顧失智家人長達二十年，深刻了解這個疾病。
[[遊走劇演員 黃秋謹]]
“最主要是我先生他中風，他是屬於血管型的失智症，後來我媽媽帕金森失智症，也走入失智過程，我同時曾經照顧過三個家人，現在有兩位已經離開，我還有一位100歲的爸爸，所以我都會把這些經驗，融入戲劇的表演裡面”
跟黃秋謹一樣，不需刻意揣摩，因為演的就是真實人生的，還有張鄭益，戲裡，他是照顧失智老伴的阿公，戲外，他同樣經歷過漫長的照護路。
[[張鄭益 遊走劇演員]]
“我岳父96歲走掉，大概四年多前。他是85歲的時候就失智，我爸爸今年97歲還在，也是失智，從他們失智沒有那麼嚴重，到失智越來越嚴重，我只要按照跟他們相處的情境移過來(表演) ，自然的去表現，我覺得這樣就可以”
張鄭益和黃秋謹，將生命經歷融入角色，成為表演的養分。沉重的照護壓力，是全台灣35萬失智長輩的家庭縮影。
- 妳有沒有看到一個阿嬤，她穿黃色衣服跟黃色包包，從這裡經過，她今天早上走丟了
而劇中戲份最重的，是由杜逸帆飾演的男主角「阿榮」，整場演出，觀眾幾乎都緊跟在他背後，與他一同穿梭街頭，尋找失智阿嬤。
- 我是阿榮，妳還記得嗎，我常常來妳的麵攤，妳會煮麵給我吃，還記得嗎
[[遊走劇演員 杜逸帆]]
“因為我們的表演環境，是真的進到現實空間，不需要去誇大一些東西。演完就有一個觀眾來跟我說，他們會有一種被理解的感受。如果不了解這樣的議題，他們會開始去想，自己家中長輩的樣子，說不定他會改變，對於生病長輩的態度”
杜逸帆曾在日照中心工作，對於高齡長者的生活再熟悉不過，這次他以劇場演員的身份挑戰「遊走」演出，詮釋尋找失智者時的焦急與迷惘，融入過去的真實經驗，也讓角色更具說服力。
創新表演方式的遊走劇，如今成為倡議樂齡議題的力量，這一切源自於一項名為，「藝術出走」的計畫。
[[國家兩廳院藝術總監 劉怡汝]]
“每年一定會有一次，比較大型的戶外的演出，我們就在想說，還要維持相同的形式嗎，有沒有辦法做得再深入一些，因為大型戶外演出，在一定程度上，它有一點放煙火的味道在，它很燦爛的在一個晚上發生，後續的影響是什麼，改變當地什麼嗎”
兩廳院的「藝術出走計畫」自2015年啟動，走出展演廳，深入全台各城市，鄉間，但當謝幕落下，還能為地方留下些什麼呢，這樣的疑問，促使2.0計畫悄然誕生，打造出全台首創的「遊走劇」
[[國家兩廳院藝術總監 劉怡汝]]
“當初覺得遊走劇滿吸引我們，當然不只是因為它的方式很特殊，那時候的想法還有一個，其實「失智」這件事情，是出現在我們日常生活裡面的，所以既然是這樣子的題目設計的演出，它就是應該在周遭，這個演出是如此的日常，如此讓你不知不覺當中，就在那個情境裡面”
遊走劇的演出地點，除了選在新興市鎮的三峽，也走進具老城風貌的萬華，而未來，這樣的演出形式，也有機會走進更多社區，與地方共創更多故事。
[[國家兩廳院藝術總監 劉怡汝]]
“2.0有一個很大的特色就是，我們找地方政府跟我們成為共製單位，他們不只是負責把觀眾帶來而已，或多或少參與了製作過程。在地的製作團隊也加進來，所以在地的團隊，日後他們也可以自己做，也可以跟在地政府一起來做”
- 好好的趁現在，去見你想見的人，去說那些，你還沒說出口的話
[[觀眾]]
“整個劇非常觸動人心，因為跟著走的時候就發現，從一個老社區，或者是一個老三峽，走到現在繁華的三峽，裡頭又有針對高齡化社會，會遇到的種種，所以也讓我去省思說，我們如何能夠把握當下，去珍惜所擁有的一切”
[[觀眾]]
“我自己是覺得這個議題有點沉重，但是如果透過劇的話，好像多了一點比較多面向，認識失智症的議題”
透過表演，沉重的議題被溫柔地送進觀眾心中，「藝術出走」的目的，不只是短暫巡演，而是一段能夠延續的行動，畢竟人生如戲，戲如人生。
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