Synopsis
The year is 1969. Ji-Gen has moved to Taiwan with the KMT government. He plants two mango seeds in the yard, and the rise, fall, and struggle of the Huang family starts. In the Huang’s, the father is looking out for his son but enforces discipline with violence, the mother is caught between her husband and her children, the son grows up painfully under expectation, and the daughter seeks self-salvation in dreams. The mango tree not only witnesses the flourish and perish of family members but also transforms into the sole pillar that connects the past and future, witnessing the military village’s demolition and transformation into a museum.
In this work, playwright Lin Kuan-ting demonstrates his ability to weave Taiwan's diaspora history, military village culture, and family power structure into the life cycle of a mango tree. His writing is delicate and full of imagery, using the meta-perspective of a "narrator" and poetic stage language to elevate complex family conflicts into a profound reflection on the inheritance of life. He buries emotional landmines in everyday dialogue, allowing the audience to witness how ordinary people, amidst the dramatic changes of the times, protect or even redefine the dignity named "home" in the ruins, through the surreal transitions of dust, meteor showers, and mango rains.
Lin Kuan-ting, Playwright
Lin Kuan-ting is a Taipei-based playwright, translator, and dramaturg. His writing credits include Long Day’s Journey for a Duck and Long Live the Mango Tree; the latter was selected for Korea’s Chungju International New Play Reading Festival and subsequently transferred to the Seoul Arts Center as part of the RE:BOUND Festival. As a translator, he has brought Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing and Lungs to local audiences. Lin holds a B.A. in English with a minor in Drama and Theatre from National Taiwan University.
Credits
Playwright: Lin Kuan-ting
Director: Kim Naghyung
Cast: Nam Taegwan, Moon Changoan, Park Sunhye, Lee Kibok, Ju Eunju
Assistant Director: Lee Hwanjun
Producer: Shon Shinhyoung
Play Translator: Im Mi-ju
Subtitle Translator: Lin Kuan-ting
Subtitle Translation Editor: Johan Amatsakio
Chungbuk Theatre Company
Chungbuk Theatre Company was established in 2024, through years of effort from Chungbuk’s citizens and the local theatre artists. It aims to enhance the competitiveness of performing arts creation in Chungbuk and to provide its residents with diverse and high-quality cultural enjoyment. It is the 4th provincial theatre company established in the country, acting as a creative performing arts platform that encompasses artistic creation, enjoyment, and distribution. The Chungbuk Theatre Company will strive to create a local theatrical ecosystem, promote art in Chungbuk residents’ daily lives, and pursue the identity of Chungbuk and contemporary art under the slogan, "One United Heartbeat of Chungbuk Through Art." Together with its community, it pursues arts on stage that everyone in Chungbuk can enjoy together.
About the 2026 Taiwan International Play Reading Festival
The 2026 Taiwan International Play Reading Festival is curated by the Prologue Center for New Plays and jointly organized with the Taipei Performing Arts Center, aiming to establish an international exchange 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. In the festival, 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.
Organizer
