abstractSynopsis:
The playwright of this work is Hsing Chih Yang, who creates the plot from a short story written by Taiwanese author Ching Wen Cheng. Lady Ghost tells a story about Pingding village’s endless strange happenings, in which the protagonist of a folk legend, Lady Ghost, has been suspected to be the culprit of these oddities. Lady Ghost is actually the child of a village girl and King of ghosts. Her dual hearts lead to two different personalities;one is the gentle white lady during daytime, while the other is the evil black lady at night. Most villagers assume the latter personality to be the wrongdoer;several musclemen are thus sent to the forest to kill her. Meanwhile, however, a child named Acheng doubted the decision made by villagers. In order to save the white lady, he as a timid child still boosts his courage and visits the white lady in person with medicines bought from the chemist. The white lady is so touched by Acheng’s sincerity that she decides to tell him how to save all villagers from being harmed. Everything turns out to be just as the white lady's prophecy goes on the next day. Acheng eventually overcomes his hesitation and follows the white lady's instructions to reveal the black lady, who shrills and drives furious storms among the entire village. After the storm subsides, all villagers walk out from the temple of refuge, and find within the village a newly formed mound which is later named "Tomb of the Lady" in memory of the white lady. The entire play of Lady Ghost is performed with traditional glove puppetry, with the show platform reformed by a crane vending machine, whose outer covering and claw are both used as stage settings and properties.