In Conversation with Fini Liu | Eighteen Lives
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- 3 min read
In this week's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Fini Liu, director and performer in Eighteen Lives, coming next week to Explosives Factory as a part of Comedy Festival.
Three performers move between six eras of Chinese history, shifting character, body and rhythm in moments. With no elaborate set and no costume changes, the actors transform time and space using only voice, gesture and the collective imagination of the room. Past lives echo into the present; private longing slips into something mythic; a single look can feel like déjà vu. Funny, intimate and gently devastating, Eighteen Lives combines physical theatre, comedy and poetic storytelling to explore why some relationships never really end — even when we think they have.
Q: Welcome to Theatre Works! Tell me about the Journey that Eighteen Lives has taken to end up here.
When we decided to stage 18 Lives, we looked at several theatres in Melbourne and narrowed it down to three options. But when we walked into the Explosives Factory at Theatre Works, we immediately knew this was the space for us. We really love the closeness between the audience and the stage. I also love the small corridor leading into the theatre — the audience has to make a little journey to arrive. In a way, they make an effort to get there, and I hope our show can reward that effort by giving them a special and memorable night at the theatre.
Q: Eighteen Lives is performing at Theatre Works over comedy fest! It is often said that comedy can transcend language. As Eighteen Lives is performed in Mandarin with English open captions, what can audience members expect in the comedy, even if it's not being spoken in a language they know?
I really love this question. Since my time studying at VCA, I have been very interested in cross-cultural and multilingual theatre. I’ve always been looking for ways to break the barriers of language and culture. So I really like what you said — that comedy can transcend language. When I decided to create Eighteen Lives, one of my first decisions was to perform the show almost entirely in Mandarin. At the same time, although it is a comedy, I didn’t want to make a show that is only about big laughs. I wanted it to be a comedy with a sense of beauty. And by beauty, I mean a richness of feelings and experiences. For this show, audiences don’t need to understand Mandarin or have knowledge of Chinese history. In fact, we hope that after watching the show, audiences might leave with a small glimpse into Chinese history and culture.
Q: You have three actors taking on the role of several characters over six eras of Chinese history. What does the process of preparing for that look like?
That’s actually a very difficult question. I’m a little worried that if I explain the whole process, the answer might become very long and readers might walk away before finishing it. So I’ll keep it simple. The process has been very fun, creative, and full of energy. It’s actually very close to what I imagine theatre should be. Rather than describing the whole process, I think it might be more interesting for people to come to the theatre and see the result — and then imagine how the journey happened.
Q: What will surprise audiences about this work?
This question is really asking about the result of the show, but I’d like to talk a little about the process instead — sorry, that’s a bit sneaky. This is the first time I’ve combined several different influences in one work: traditional Chinese opera, training from Odin Teatret in Denmark, Viewpoints, Jacques Lecoq’s physical theatre approach, inspiration from Japanese comics, and traditional Chinese xiangsheng, a form of Chinese comedic performance. In this work, I’m also interested in exploring the idea of theatrical “assumption” in cross-cultural theatre — although I’m still searching for the most accurate term to describe this direction. So I think what might surprise audiences is simply seeing what kind of theatre comes out when all these very different influences meet in one piece.
Q: What has been the most memorable moment in the process so far?
So far, the most memorable moment in the process is actually this moment right now. I’m closing my eyes and imagining that tonight I’m about to have the best rehearsal of my life. Come on, Fini. Come on, DO Theatre.
Eighteen Lives plays at Explosives Factory 25 March - 4 April, as a part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
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