Talking about "geishas", what would come to your mind? A face white as snow; sleek, black hair coiled at the back; bewitching eyes framed by arched brows and tiny cherry lips? Would it be their composure while playing shamisen; their concentration while hosting the Tea Ceremonies and their body language and expressions while performing traditional songs and dances? Or would it rather be the controversy in response to Zhang Ziyi's Hollywood role of a Japanese "geisha" written by a western novelist? According to Ong Keng Sen from TheatreWorks (Singapore), the "geisha" as a mysterious symbol in the Japanese culture could be one with the broadest implications. It can be compared to a blank screen on which we project all our reveries about Japan. He says, "Not only is the "geisha" an exotic intrigue, but also embodies the multiple concepts of the Japanese identity and gender relationships. At a broader level, it is a dimension which allows us to discuss life, dream and reality."

Interestingly, Geisha differs from Memoirs of a Geisha, in which the lives of several women with given names and contrasting personalities and fates interweave; it is unlike Li Liuyi's New Drama Mu Guiying, in which a woman with flesh and blood has a dialogue with her naked soul when confronted with family, nation, ancestors and herself; it is also different from Roland Petit's Soirˆme de Danse, which portrays the beauty and individual characteristics of women from different countries. Rather, Geisha depicts a world that surrounds and produces a product called "geisha". The lead performer Karen Kandel, renowned New York-based actress and three-time OBIE award-winner, and legendary Japanese "kabuki" performer Masanosuke Gojo play the various components that constitute the "geisha" world ¡V "geishas", wives of "geisha"s' clients, young girls that are learning to be "geishas", "mama-sans", children of "geishas", bystanders in the "geisha" world and others. The people, events, values and meanings that shape this mysterious and intriguing product ¡Ð "geisha" ¡Ð all come on stage in Geisha. Every person and event related to "geishas" is a part of this world. Its/His/Her interaction with "geishas" is the force that shapes this world continuously.

Different elements help constructing the "geisha" world on stage: the flowing body language of the performers, the "nihon buyoh"performance (classical Japanese dance), the new music that blends shamisen with contemporary electronic soundscapes, and the surreal ambiance created by drifting lights. The ambiguities between traditional and modern, masculine and feminine, dream and reality are in line with the possibilities embodied in the symbol of "geisha". Our folk wisdom has it that "people are judged by what they wear." The power of costume is observed not just in the capitalist society in which "the respect for expensive outfits precedes that for a person". In ancient times, only those in the royal family could wear yellow and only the emperor could wear gowns embroidered with golden dragons. No other dignitaries could depart from this social norm. In medieval Europe, the style and materials of clothing were not decided by affordability but rather by the more fundamental question of identity. What the audience sees in Geisha is a construction process of a "geisha" ¡V the costumes and accessories, wigs and props are put on and taken off, layer by layer, by the performers. Gender, class, age and identity all begin with the costume and end with role-playing. Who cares whether the body underneath is male, female, old or young. The bodies standing on the stage are in effect one blank screen after another that allow the audiences to project their interpretations and desires. Isn't the mysterious cultural symbol of "geisha" itself a "costume" and "role-playing" as perceived by the audiences worldwide?

Director Ong Keng Sen got his inspiration on a train trip to Vienna in 2004. During a discussion about "geishas" with members of TheatreWorks, he noticed that the perceptions are vastly different between men and women. Women pay more attention to the sisterhood among "geishas" while men look at "geishas" as women succumbed to lust and having objectified. He is interested not in revealing which of these perceptions is "true" but rather in exploring those of us outside the Japanese culture who project our own backgrounds onto the "geisha". In this way, Geisha is like a mirror diverting the audience's attention back to themselves and, in so doing, switches the position of the performers and the audience.

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The English translation appears here with permission by International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). Both this article and its original Chinese version are published in New Vision Arts Festival 2006 Critics' Guide (October 2006) by IATC(HK). The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not represent the stand of the presenter, the performing groups of the Festival nor the publisher.