Play tackling national identity in Taiwan to appear at Paris Arts Festival

Paris, Oct. 11 (CNA) "This Is Not an Embassy (Made in Taiwan)," a cross-culture theater performance exploring the complexities of national identity in Taiwan, will take place next month at the Paris Arts Festival, an event organizer said.

The play, which presents political issues through an artistic lens, will be the first Taiwanese co-produced piece to appear at the 52-year-old festival, according to Francesca Corona, the festival's art director.

Corona told Taiwanese media in a recent interview in Paris that the piece explored themes of historical justice.

The play, co-produced by the German theatre group Rimini Protokoll and the National Theater of Taipei, will center around a fictional Republic of China (Taiwan) embassy set in a miniature décor, featuring three performers who are Taiwanese nationals, she said.

The actors -- a retired diplomat, a digital diplomacy activist, and the heiress of a Taiwanese company that opened up the international market for bubble tea -- will talk about their lives and views on Taiwan as a country.

The art form allows the audience to engage in dialogue on major issues by presenting complex topics in a nuanced way, without oversimplification or polarization, Corona said.

"Only by opening [our] ears and reflecting without a critical attitude can [we] create a more just society," she said.

The 105-minute show will be performed in English and Mandarin, with French and English surtitles, at the MC93 public multicultural venue from Nov. 14-17.

The Autumn Festival in Paris, a multidisciplinary festival founded in 1972, is one of the most renowned art festivals in Paris, which brings together theatre, music, dance, film and the visual arts every year between September and December.