WHAT IS ZEN? Up until late last year, Liu Ruo-yu of Taiwan's U-Theatre wasn't sure. Then she met Tse Sheng, whose teaching was to change the way she looks at life - and her work - forever.
'Tse Sheng would throw questions at you - such as, 'Who are you?' or, 'What are you doing?' - the whole day, throughout this intensive workshop,' says the U- Theatre founder and artistic director.
'If your answer was of the worldly kind, such as, 'I am Liu Ruo-yu', he would tap you on the right shoulder, which means it's the wrong answer. If you responded in a Zen or metaphysical way such as, 'I am a person and I am looking for the answers of my meanings in this world' - the right answer - he would tap you on the left shoulder.'
Five days (and numerous tappings on both shoulders) later, Liu realised that there's much truth in the Zen teachings, but also that her new production, A Touch of Zen, needed reworking.
The new version, which features the company and a dozen members of the Shaolin Temple Wushu Training Centre, will be staged at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre from February 23 to 26 as part of this year's Hong Kong Arts Festival.
The nine-act musical drama premiered in Taipei last June and has since been performed in Japan, France, Belgium, Russia, the Philippines and Thailand. It's the first part of a planned trilogy, Journey to Shaolin, which is scheduled to unravel over the next five years.