Energetic and poetic, balancing tradition and innovation, Sword of Wisdom by the Taiwanese company U-Theatre merges the powerful tradition of percussion with dance and martial arts, drawing inspiration from Buddhist verses that narrate the journey of the “Enlightened Warrior” toward self-realization. Founded in 1988 by Liu Ruo-Yu, U-Theatre has been shaped by Jerzy Grotowski’s aesthetic vision and training methods. A turning point came in 1993 when Huang Chih-Chun was invited to join the company and teach the art of drumming, leading to a fusion of music, dance, Tai Chi, theater, literature, and ritual in their performances. This unique synthesis of Eastern and Western cultures transcends the boundaries between ancient and contemporary, forging a distinctive performance style acclaimed worldwide. U-Theatre’s creations are deeply rooted in musicality and body awareness, intertwined with Daoist practice methods. Significantly, the company’s name derives from a Chinese character meaning “excellence,” once used to designate professional artists in ancient China.
U-Theatre was founded by Ms. Liu Ruo-Yu, its present director, in October 1988. A graduate in the theatre M.A. program of New York University, Ms. Liu attended professional workshops led by the Polish master of poor theater Jerzy Grotowski (1933-1998). Deeply influenced and inspired by Grotowski’s aesthetic perspective and performance training method on theatre, she dedicated herself to the goal of exploration of the body and mind. In 1993, Ms. Liu invited Mr. Huang Chih-Chun, a professional traditional Malaysian Chinese percussionist with nearly 20 years of experience, to teach U-Theatre members drumming. Huang’s deeply held conviction that “to play the drum, one must first learn meditation” inspired the adoption of meditation, and later, Chinese martial arts, into the core of the U-Theatre training curriculum.
Integrating elements of martial arts, drumming, meditation, Tai Chi guiding, and sacred dance, U-Theatre extensively works with music, drama, literature, dance, and rituals. Through this fusion of Eastern and Western cultures, U-Theatreaims to transcend the boundaries of ancient and modern times, crafting a distinctive performance styleknown as ‘U-Theatre Aesthetics.” U-Theatre’s creations and performances are founded upon a profound sense of musicality, intimately intertwined with bodily awareness and the practice methods of “Dao.” Its uniqueness has also sparked discussions within the international performing arts community.
U-Theatre continues to adhere to the core principle of “drumming in one ‘s own tranquility,” engaging with the world through grounded and reassuring strength. By conveying this tranquility to the audience through drumming, U-Theatre fosters a collective cohesion of “living in the moment,” contributing to culture and the environmental sustainability.
ounder/ Director:LIU, Ruo-Yu
Artistic Director: HUANG, Chih-Chun
Set / Lighting Design: LIN, Keh-Hua
Costume Design: Tim YIP
Mask Design: CHANG, Wang
Actors & Actresses: HUANG, Chih-Chun HUANG, Kun-Ming SU, Yu-Xuan CHANG, Ya-Lun LIU, Ping-Tsen LIU, Shu-Chih OU, Kui-Lan KAN, Po-Chu
HSU, Ching-Fang LIN, Ching-Sheng YAO, Yu-Wen TING, Yong-Ning LIN, Ting-An CHEN, Hsin-Yuan HUANG, Yu-Ting CHOU, Chun-Tsung
Stage Manager: LIAO, Dun-Gen
Lighting director: LEE, Lulu
Sound Engineer: LIN, Yu-hsien
Director of Programming and Production: LEE, Lulu
Programming and Production Manager: LAI, Johnathan
Production coordinator: LIN, Pei-yi
