Flight of a Legless Bird by Ethan Luk ’24

Flight of a Legless Bird, written by Princeton senior Ethan Luk, follows and braids the lives of Robin and Leslie, two queer artists, from the 1980s to the 2000s. Robin, a filmmaker in New York’s West Village, confronts the reality of a HIV/AIDS diagnosis; Leslie, an accomplished Cantopop star and actor, grapples with his personal hurdles and newfound fame in Hong Kong. Robin and Leslie’s worlds collide by chance, establishing an emotional bond between the two men that defies time and space. Fusing multiple languages, geographies, and temporalities, the play’s fictional intertwining reflects a desire to forge new queer mythologies and connections, while probing the fraught relationship between art-making and times of societal crisis. Directed by Luk in collaboration with retired Program in Theater faculty member R.N. Sandberg.

Parts of the play are in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English; non-English sections of the play will be translated to English via supertitles.

Photo Gallery

Content Advisory: This production contains mentions and discussions of homophobia; mentions and discussions of suicide; depictions of mental illness (including depression); and depictions of physical violence and intimacy.

Flight of a Legless Bird was developed in collaboration with New York Theater Workshop’s Mind the Gap Program, CHUANG Stage, PAO Arts Center, and Asian American Theater Artists of Boston (AATAB).

Support for this project was provided by Douglas G. McGrath ’80 Fund for the Creative and Performing Arts.

View the show playbill

Talkback: April 6

A post-show conversation will take place following the April 6 performance. The discussion will focus on intergenerational queer mentorship and will include Tony Award-winning and former Artistic Director of New York Theatre Workshop James Nicola, and Director of Education and Community Engagement at New York Theatre Workshop Alexander Santiago-Jirau, moderated by Ethan Luk.

Tickets & Details

All performances are open to the public; purchased tickets are required:

• $12 in advance of show dates
• $17 purchased the day of performances at the box office
• $10 for students (tickets are Passport to the Arts eligible for Princeton students)

Buy tickets through McCarter Box Office

Directions

Get directions to Berlind Theatre and find other venue information for McCarter Theatre Center.

Accessibility

Berlind Theatre is an accessible venue with wheelchair and companion seating available. An assistive listening system is available and headphones can be requested from ushers. Parts of the play are in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English; non-English sections of the play will be translated to English via supertitles. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information at our various locations, including Berlind Theatre. Attendees in need of other access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at 609-258-5262 or email LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week in advance of the event date.

 

About the Talkback Guests

James C Nicola was the Artistic Director of New York Theater Workshop from 1988 to 2022. Prior to that, he was first a National Endowment for the Arts Directing Fellow and then Producing Associate at Arena Stage with Zelda Fichandler. Nicola was a Casting Coordinator at Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of Tufts University and was awarded a Special Tony Award and a Lifetime Achievement Obie Award.

 

 

Alexander Santiago-Jirau (he/him/his) is Director of Education and Community Engagement at New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW). In this role, he oversees all of NYTW’s education and engagement initiatives, including the Mind the Gap (MTG) intergenerational theater program, student matinees, in-school teaching artist residencies, after-school programs, masterclasses, administrative fellowships, and community-based programs. Some of his favorite work at NYTW has included developing educational materials and curating programming for the world premiere of David Bowie’s and Enda Walsh’s Lazarus directed by Ivo van Hove, the world premiere of Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin, Othello directed by Sam Gold featuring Daniel Craig and David Oyelowo, Heidi Shreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me, Jeremy O. Harris’s Slave Play, and the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. Recent work has included facilitation of MTG devising intensive workshops in London, Chile, and North Carolina, and the creation of NYTW’s Youth Artistic Instigators ensemble.

 

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Banner photo caption: From a production of the play at Lang Yuan Vintage, MCLAB Space, Beijing, China (performed as part of the PRISM Mini Theatre Festival). Performer: Jonathan Zhang 張晨 . Director: Wilson Wang 王永飛 . Photographer: Aruukhan 阿柔罕

 

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陆浩弘 《无脚鸟的飞行》舞台剧公演

地点：
麦卡特剧院中心 (McCarter Theatre Center) 伯林德剧院 (Berlind Theatre)
演出时间：
2024 年 4 月 5 日星期五 – 晚上 8:00
2024 年 4 月 6 日星期六 – 晚上 7:30
2024 年 4 月 11 日星期四 – 晚上 8:00
2024 年 4 月 12 日星期五 – 晚上 8:00
2024 年 4 月 13 日星期六 – 晚上 8:00
演出介紹：
《无脚鸟的飞行》是由编剧陆浩弘 (Ethan Luk ‘24) 创作，使用粤语与英文的双语戏剧作品。《无脚鸟的飞行》通过 “巧合和错过” 记录了上世纪两位艺术家间的想像关系。 Robin 是住在纽约城西村的电影制片人，被诊断出患有艾滋病；Leslie 是香港著名的歌星和演员。

如果将素未谋面的两人，放置在发生在世界上的不同地点的约会中，他们将会如何选择？在接近新千禧年时，两人面临着截然不同、但本质上相似的窘境：一个人如何在艾滋病面前生存？另一个人在对抗宣传和关注的冲击中，应当如何继续他的生活？

在全球范围内的真实和想像的旅行中，他们发现自己在新千禧年到来的时刻，因对自我身份的不懈追求和对距离的压倒性渴望，而不可逆转地结合在一起。

《无脚鸟的飞行》在2021年北京棱镜戏剧节首演，并在2023年在波士顿以工作坊的形式上演，由CHUANG Stage、包氏文艺中心（Pao Arts Center）、波士顿亚美戏剧联盟( Asian American Theater Artists of Boston) 联手出品。 《无脚鸟的飞行》由编剧陆浩弘與戏剧专业退休教师 R.N. Sandberg 执导。

该剧以英文、粵語、普通話演出。
内容提示： 本片包含对同性恋恐惧症的提及和讨论；对自杀的提及和讨论；对精神疾病（包括抑郁症）的描述；以及对身体暴力和亲密关系的描述。
Douglas G. McGrath ‘80 创意与表演艺术基金为本项目提供了支持。
4 月 6 日演出结束后将举行一场演出后对话。托尼奖获得者、纽约戏剧工作坊 (New York Theater Workshop) 前艺术总监 James Nicola 和纽约戏剧工作坊教育与社区参与总监 Alexander Santiago-Jirau 将参与讨论。
门票和详情
演出对公众开放，需要购票。门票：演出前预订的价格为 12 美元，演出当日在售票处购买的价格为 17 美元，学生票 10 美元。
访问麦卡特售票处 (McCarter Box Office) 购买门票。
交通信息
获取前往伯林德剧院的路线，并查看麦卡特剧院中心其他场馆信息。
无障碍设施
伯林德剧院是一个无障碍场所，提供轮椅和陪同人员座位。剧院提供辅助听力系统，观众可向引座员索取耳机。剧中部分内容使用粤语、普通话和英语；非英语部分将通过字幕翻译成英语。提供聆听辅助系统，可向接待员申请耳机。请访问我们的场地和工作室的网站，了解各地点（包括柏林德剧院）的无障碍设施信息。有其他无障碍设施需求的来宾请至少在演出日期前一周致电 609-258-5262 或发送电子邮件至 LewisCenter@princeton.edu 联系路易斯中心 (Lewis Center)。