2026 TIPRF- Rafaz Performance Lab: Texas Aunt

Synopsis

Texas Aunt weaves a poignant tale of disillusionment involving two generations of women. Choon-Mi, or the Texas Aunt, claims to live in a luxurious mansion with a swimming pool in the United States; in reality, she hides in a cramped rental, sending foreign goods from Namdaemun Market back to her hometown to maintain the illusion of a "successful immigrant." Meanwhile, back in rural Uijeongbu, her brother has "purchased" a nineteen-year-old bride from Kyrgyzstan to fulfill his own desires and farm labor needs. Seen through the eyes of a precocious teenage girl, the story exposes the silenced violence of international marriages and the resilience of migrant women treated like weeds under the weight of discrimination.

Yun Mi-hyun is known for her critical realism and her ability to capture those living on the margins of society. Texas Aunt serves as a landmark in contemporary Korean theatre for its exploration of racial prejudice and systemic trauma. The play won the Korea Asia Playwriting Contest in 2017 and was named Best Play at the Dong-A Theatre Awards in 2019.

Yun Mi-hyun, Playwright

Yun Mi-hyun is a playwright based in Korea. After writing fiction and poetry in her early career, she debuted as a playwright in 2012 with the one-act play Can We Meet?, which won the New Play Award from the Korean Playwright Association. Her major works include The Vegetable Garden Killer (2012), Young Husidin: A Love Story (2014), Chulsoo’s Rebellion (2015), Texas Aunt (2017), and The Wooden Boat (2019). She has also written books and lyrics for numerous new musicals and operas. Her plays have won many awards, including the Byeoksan Drama Award, Best Play at the Donga Theatre Awards, Best Play at the Seoul Theatre Festival, and the Presidential Award at the Korean Theatre Festival.

Rafaz Performance Lab

Founded in 2025, Rafaz Performance Lab derives its name from the Pangcah word for "freedom" and "liberation." Rooted in Taiwan’s Indigenous heritage, the Lab explores transdisciplinary and cross-cultural possibilities through experimental media and methodologies. By challenging the boundaries of performing arts, it opens spaces for the freedom of perception and expression, embodying a diverse and profound artistic spirit.

About the 2026 Taiwan International Play Reading Festival

The Taiwan International Play Reading Festival (TIPRF) is curated by the Prologue Center for New Plays and jointly organized with the Taipei Performing Arts Center, aiming to establish an international excahnge platform centered on playwrights and plays. Each year, the festival focuses on a specific country or cultural region, exploring the differences and resonances among theatrical traditions and textual aesthetics through staged readings and cross-cultural interpretation.

Here, plays are not only the starting point of theatrical creation, but also a medium for cultural exchange through which diverse social experiences and creative perspectives are reflected, opening up a space for cross-cultural dialogue.

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