The Story

There are three actual characters in the story: the brother, the younger sister, and the elder sister. Each of the characters has a particular role and develops his or her own nature within the story. The story starts with a prologue by the brother telling about his past and his family (the younger sister and the elder sister) living in a peaceful village. The peaceful life is interrupted when the villagers find “the it” (in Scene 2, Whisper), which, as the story progresses, comes to involve the life of the three characters. “The it” is not precisely identified as each villager has a unique description: “such an animal” or “a man,” “shiny like the sun” or “he can beat 10 men with one slap.”

Nonetheless, since their meeting (in Scene 3, Meeting), “the it” develops a particularly intense contact with these three characters. “The it” gives a tiny box which can make light to the brother, and says nice words to the younger sister. From this point, the story revolves around the relationship between the characters and how each perceives “the it.” While the brother always has positive image of “the it” (in Scene 4, Friendship) and the younger sister even falls in love with “the it” (in Scene 5, Romance), the elder sister is always suspicious and keeps warning her siblings not to get closer to “the it” (in Scene 5).

The siblings’ relationship with “the it” actually exposes the audience to the issue of how the members of this family perceive each other. It is essential for each character to see his or her relationship with the others. The elder sister sees herself as the guardian of the family, the one who takes care of her siblings, whilst the brother sees her as an overprotective sister. The younger sister always wants to be freed from the burden of the family, whilst her elder sister always thinks she is too naïve for the world. The relationship issue creates the dynamic of the story, posing conflicts between the elder sister and the brother (in Scene 6, Brave) and problems between the elder sister and the younger sister (in Scene 7, Widow). The story climaxes (in Scene 8, Fire as a Burden in the Heart) when the characters meet each other to confront the reality of “the it” and each is forced to choose his or her own life path. This is where the theme of this story – life, freedom, and choices – is clearly presented to the audience.

Life, Freedom, and Choices

“You call ‘it’ for something inhuman, right? So it can be anything. You never see ‘it’ clearly [in the performance], but ‘it’ is there,” explained Kop with smiles when I asked curiously what she meant by “the it.”

Since “the it” can be anything, the problem starts from how to communicate (Scene 3, Meeting).

Younger sister: If he does not speak our language, how can we talk to him?

Brother: When we do not speak, I seem to be able to understand him better. I wonder if I would understand him if we spoke the same language. Sometimes I don’t understand what people are saying.

Elder sister: Because you are stupid. That’s why you never understand what other people say to you.

Brother: Or they use too difficult words.

Younger sister: Most people say words without meaning. Sometimes they don’t mean what they say. I know, let’s draw pictures to communicate with him.

Here, in the first meeting, pictures are used to communicate. But as the story continues, the method of communication develops. This starts from Scene 4 (Friendship), in which the brother develops a friendship with “the it,” and in Scene 5 (Romance), when the younger sister falls in love with “the it.”

Scene 4:

Brother: You know! He said in his childhood, when he was a little boy the sky was blue.

Scene 5:

Younger sister: He said I’m beautiful. What does beautiful mean?

Evidently, they talk and converse as the relationship grows between the brother and the younger sister and “the it.” As the result of the relationship, “the it” is identified as a “he.” “The it” has a personality and is no longer consider inhuman. From here, we see that when man names a thing and develops a relationship with it, this is the moment when life starts.

This story is about life.

This story is also about freedom and choices.

Elder sister: What kind of bravery are you talking about? I spend all my life to protect you. Now you will go out to protect others. Who are the people you will protect? Is it not us, your family? You’d better learn to protect yourself. This fire is only a burden to your heart. You’d better learn how to deal with it before you go out and help other people.

Why all of a sudden you feel like you are needed. You don’t have to prove to yourself that you are strong enough, brave enough, and good enough. You don’t need to protect them. I don’t need anyone to protect me.

Brother: May be you are just too strong.
(Elder sister quiet)

Elder sister: Something is bothering me. I don’t want to let you go. I’m afraid I will not see you again.

Brother: Let me go. May be something interesting is waiting for me. May be I will conquer something, may be I can become rich and come back to build you a bigger house. May be…

Elder sister: May be, may be…

Brother: Nothing can grow under this yellow sky. Don’t you see? There is no hope here. I don’t want to be here. I hate being here. Everyone hates me. Do you know what people say about us? Have you ever listened? I know I am stupid. Everyone says I am useless. No one needs me. That made me hate myself, too. I just want to be GOOD at something.

(yell) Just give me something to be proud of.

(softly) or at least make me proud of being myself.

In this scene (Scene 6, Brave), the elder sister questions her brother’s motive in moving out. She tries to cast doubt on her brother, to prevent him from leaving on the grounds that she can protect him. In fact, she is protecting herself and her own feelings, as she does not want to get hurt if she never sees her brother again.

Meanwhile, the brother is at a crossroads. He realizes he has few options in the village, and the only way to make a change is to set out and leave. But on the other hand, he does not really understand where to go and what to do. He is still afraid to make the first step as he needs assurance that he will find success out there.

The theater performance in Taiwan was full of symbols which carried and explored the same theme on freedom and choices. In the performance, the elder sister was busy knitting and fixing a net, whilst the brother was always playing around with a bird cage. Both the net and the cage symbolize the shielding of feeling – man builds his own “cage” or “net” to protect himself and hide inside, always afraid to step out to greet freedom. The elder sister wants to protect herself by always fixing the net, whilst the brother was afraid to step out until he could throw away the cage.

I asked Kop what made her explore these themes through this script: how did she get the idea to write? She explained that she got the theme from a one-week workshop in Taiwan which she facilitated. It was a storytelling workshop where anyone could participate by writing up their personal views or stories on ideas like childhood, loss, triumph. Participants wrote stories about memorable events or the things that had impacted them the most. After the workshop, Kop read all the collected stories and later picked the most significant ones. “I did not just collage, but blended them all to become one collective story,” ended Kop on her method.

A Taste of “Asia”?

The theme of “life, freedom, and choices” is a universal one, easily grasped by anyone regardless of race or skin colour. Thus, one wonders what makes this script something special that comes from Asia. This question haunted me until the story reached its final scene (Scene 9, Decision). Here, the brother has a monologue which gives the audience the final fates of each character.

(Brother looks at the two women)

Brother: I decided to leave. No, I did not join the battle. It was his will, not mine. I have no dreams to make them come true. I had no mission to fulfill. I just wanted to leave. It was just a feeling. It was like walking on the ocean or flying over the mountain. I wanted to laugh when I felt like laughing. I wanted to cry when I felt like crying. Feeling free like a fresh breeze. Let the wind blow away all my worries, frustration and disappointment. I have no idea what will happen in my future. I might be a person who lives day by day. I don’t need to prove how brave I am as a man. I can not be braver than this ever. Even though I am stupid but I’m not a coward to face my own fear. I am afraid… I am afraid of loneliness. May be, this is the bravest thing I could do in my life.

(Brother looks at them. Younger sister gets up, takes off her veil, and walks to one side)

Brother: My little sister packed up. She did not try to follow him, her lover. Her world is greater than the cave that once imprisoned him.

(Brother looks at Elder sister. She gets up, takes off her veil, and walks off in a different direction)

Brother: My big sister also takes off. Usually, she has never been away farther than the foot of the hill that separates us from the outer world. But this time, she traces the river. She has no idea where the river will take her. But she knows where her heart is, and she is getting there. The poem she always recited to sooth her feeling does not work for her anymore. May be the tide will change its direction. This might bring those two mountains a little closer to each other. May be….

While monologue in western theatre functions as a catharsis on the problem of “the I,” the brother’s monologue here transcends that nature. His monologue not only consists of the story of “the I,” but also presents the story of “the others.” By relating his story with the stories of others, he ultimately informs audience that he still has a connection with his sisters. He knows what his sisters have done and his sisters inform him of their progress in life. This exchange of news symbolizes that the ties are still there and that each of them keeps the ties intact, even though they each have left in search of their own destinies. Thus, family ties are never broken. This is Asia.