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Ruan Guang-min's comic 'Yong-Jiu Grocery Store' to be adapted into stage play

  • Date:2021-04-14
©Enjoy Entertainment Co.

Award-winning manga artist Ruan Guang-min's work "Yong-Jiu Grocery Store (用九柑仔店)" will be adapted into a stage play, after its success in remaking into television series. The stage play will run from Sept. 10 onwards, in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan and Chiayi.

Ruan released the comic, which takes inspiration from his own childhood memories living with his grandfather. In 2017, it was adapted into television series and released in 2019. Through illustrating the stories of common people in Taiwanese society, the manga not only presents the everyday life in Taiwan but also brings back collective memories shared by many living on the island.

At the press conference on Apr. 14, Ruan shared that he was ecstatic when he heard that his work will be adapted for a stage play. He pointed out that, although comic and television series are readily available, the scenes in the stage play might better relate to his childhood memories.

The play will be co-directed by Chiu Yi-feng (邱逸峰) and Huang Yu-tang (黃毓棠). Both of the directors, just like the protagonist of the play, left hometowns in Southern Taiwan to work in Taipei. Huang said the play will be a condensed version of the original work, featuring about 70% of the characters. "Since the stage play is only 180 minutes, details of the play will be more intense than the comic or TV series," he added.

The stage play will be starred by Taiwanese actress Lu Hsueh-Feng (呂雪鳳), and actors Ching-ting Hsia (夏靖庭) and Mario Pu (馬力歐), to name a few.

Ruan's ability to imbue his stories with a sense of warm, touching humor and to reconnect readers with the land of Taiwan through comics has made him the winner of the 2017 Comic of the Year Award with "Yong-Jiu Grocery Store" at the 8th Golden Comic Awards.

Photo courtesy of Enjoy Entertainment Co.