A theatrical homecoming

Born in the United States in 1954, Lai, who then started his creative career in Taiwan, first returned to Huichang, the hometown of his father, in 1997, after decades of being separated from the family.

To have a deeper connection with his ancestral home, Lai hoped to help develop Huichang through culture and art.

He began returning every year with a new play, each visit sowing the seeds of a vision that would become the Huichang Theatre Village. Today, what was once a town edged by old factories is now dotted with theaters, plazas, and performance spaces — each repurposed from existing architecture, each infused with meaning.

One symbol of this transformation is the Courtyard Theatre, originally the ancestral hall of the Wu family. There, in 2024, Lai premiered Flower in the Mirror, Moon in the Water. The director says that he later came across a historical record that he found astonishing. In the 1930s, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), the area witnessed a surge in theatrical activities. His father was attending high school here where he joined a drama club. The club, of which his father was once vice-president, once performed at the Courtyard Theatre.

"Now, I spend a significant part of each year in Huichang, where I find joy and the comforting embrace of my ancestral soil. Yet, I also confront its challenges head-on — this blend of warmth and adversity ignites my resolve and purpose," Lai says.

"Because my father passed away very early, in 1969, it wasn't until 1980 that we reconnected with our family here. My uncle, my father's younger brother, was studying in the United States at the time. When we received his letter, I was deeply moved. At that moment, I realized there were so many people in this town with whom I have deep connections."

That intergenerational arc, of departure, return and rediscovery, runs through Lai's entire approach to theater-making in Huichang. "I often say theater serves two purposes: to make you remember or make you forget," Lai reflects. "Our mission leans toward the former — to remind audiences of certain truths and values."