Yang Shuang-zi's Novel "Taiwan Travelogue" to Be Adapted into a Musical, Author Hopes for "Beautiful" Food Scenes

(CNA, Taipei, 20th, by reporter Chiu Tsu-yin) "Taiwan Travelogue," a winner of the prestigious International Booker Prize, is being adapted into a musical expected to debut in the latter half of next year. The driving force behind the project, Wang Hsi-wen, hopes to present author Yang Shuang-zi's unique fictional style, while Yang anticipates that the food scenes will be visually stunning. Wang, a multiple Golden Horse and Golden Melody Award nominee, told CNA in a phone interview today that he was deeply captivated by the story and form of "Taiwan Travelogue." He proactively sought the rights through industry friends, and his theater group, "Studio M," is leading the development to bring this work depicting Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period to the musical stage. Wang stated that Yang has given the creative team considerable freedom, as "she believes that every IP, when adapted into a different form, will find a suitable mode of expression." Consequently, there were not many demands or restrictions. The only expectation pertains to the numerous food scenes in the book: "She said the eating scenes must look very good." The two also discussed their ideas for the appearances of the protagonists, Aoyama Chizuko and Wang Chien-ho. Regarding the creative direction, Wang admitted this is the team's greatest challenge and the area where they most hope to achieve a breakthrough. Wang explained that while "Taiwan Travelogue" is set in 1930s Taiwan, and a "Showa style plus Taiwanese folk songs" is an intuitive visual and musical approach, the truly special aspect of the work lies in Yang's writing method. The core of the story, he said, is its various questions about identity and colonial relationships, as well as the book's overall fictional concept and layers. "Taiwan Travelogue," published in 2020 by Yang Shuang-zi, tells the fictional story of Aoyama Chizuko, whose semi-autobiographical novel "Seishunki" is adapted into a hit film in Taiwan in 1938 (Showa 13), leading to her being invited for a speaking tour. During her visit, Aoyama is accompanied by Wang Chien-ho, a translator from a prominent Taiwanese family. The two women, raised in entirely different cultures, travel together along the cities of the Western Trunk Line, staying in hotels and indulging in local cuisine nearly everywhere they go. Wang emphasized, "We will absolutely not be just staging a musical about the Japanese colonial era; that would be meaningless." The current focus is on how to present Yang's unique techniques and concepts through the medium of theater and musicals. "This is also what we are most eager to try." Regarding the performance schedule, Wang said an internal script reading is planned for the end of this year for the creative team's self-assessment. A public reading might be held in the first half of next year, with a formal