Selected Plays of Stan Lai

Stan Lai (Lai Shengchuan) is one of the most celebrated theatre practitioners working in the Chinese-speaking world. His work over three decades has pioneered the course of modern Chinese language theatre in Taiwan, China, and other Chinese speaking regions. "The preeminent Chinese playwright and stage director of this generation." (China Daily) "The best Chinese language playwright and director in the world." (BBC) Lai's works include masterpieces of the modern Chinese language theatre such as Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, The Village, and his epic 8-hour A Dream Like A Dream, all of which are in this collection.Lissa Tyler Renaud (M.A. Directing, Ph.D. Theatre History/Criticism, U.C. Berkeley, 1987) is known internationally as a master teacher, actor-scholar, invited speaker, writer, critic, and 2nd generation editor.

• Introduction to Volume 3 by Raymond ZhouNotes on StagingA Dream Like a DreamAgoOn the Contributors

“Stan Lai, one of the most prolific playwrights and brilliant theatre directors in the Chinese-speaking world during the past four decades, has constantly reinvented himself. Never resting on his laurels, he has untiringly innovated, inspiring numerous artists working in theatre and film with everything from his improvisational techniques to his themes of deep cultural significance and universal resonance. In this beautiful translation, the bilingual playwright makes a wide selection of his plays exploring memory, cultural identity, humor, and the cycles of death and rebirth available to an English audience for the first time. These poignant plays will be read and performed for many decades to come.”—Tze-lan D. Sang, Professor of Chinese Literature and Media, Michigan State University