Stan Lai's WRITING IN WATER Now Available On Kanopy

Stan Lai's "Writing in Water" is now available on Kanopy, the leading streaming platform for libraries and academic institutions. Lai is one of the most celebrated voices in contemporary Chinese theatre, and is regarded by the BBC as "the best Chinese language playwright and director in the world".

"Writing in Water", seven years in the making, was partly inspired by a book that Lai had read about an Austrian man who kept his family locked in a basement for twenty years. "The atrocities pained my heart and made me livid with rage," Lai explained, "but feeling angry is far too inadequate for a playwright. A playwright seeks to uncover truths. Where is the origin of the world's good and evil? What breeds violence? What defines love, joy and happiness?"

From this, a story soon emerged; a tale about an encounter between a new wave "Happyology" instructor and his mother, whom he had never met. Lai says, "Telling this story was my way of 'translating,' as a playwright, the terrifying story I had read about."

Still, there is a deep sense of loss that runs through the work. "Among all the characters I gave life to in my plays, perhaps Shui'er (the mother in the form of a young girl) is the most special. In a sense, she is not unlike Miranda in Shakespeare's The Tempest. She finds herself in a "brave new world," yet she is confined within the hard-cold walls of reality."

The lauded production, captured on film by Serpent Productions from the Theatre Above in Shanghai, is being distributed in the US by Art Seen Films, a company renowned for its international theatre on film distribution. "It's our first foray into Chinese theatre," said Ed Aronoff, President of Art Seen Films. "Starting with a Stan Lai production is an honor."

With an eye towards maximum accessibility, Aronoff turned to the Kanopy streaming platform, who will provide free access to the filmed performance via thousands of public and academic library streaming partners across North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

"We are thrilled to bring Stan Lai's profound and moving work to a broader audience," says Jason Tyrrell, EVP, Content at OverDrive, the company behind Kanopy. "We strive to make impactful and diverse stories accessible to everyone through public libraries and institutions across the globe, and 'Writing in Water' is a perfect fit for our platform."

"Writing in Water" runs one hour and fifty-five minutes and is presented in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles. For more information on the production, visit https://www.artseenfilms.com/writing. To see if the film is available on your university or public library platform, visit Kanopy.com/product/writing-water.