Plays: “Behind the Curtains” and “Daiyu Burns Her Manuscripts”

本論文內含兩個劇本：新編京劇《垂簾》與改編自越劇《紅樓夢》的《黛玉焚稿》以及兩個劇本的創作說明。 《垂簾》描述慈禧太后的故事，時間從十六歲進宮前的少女時代開始，一直到開始垂簾之治為止的十年。從天真無知的少女、與咸豐皇帝真心相愛到失寵，同時體悟到必須靠自己的力量，在宮廷中爭取一席之地。於是聯合皇后與恭親王發動「辛酉政變」，將大權從顧命八大臣手中給奪了過來。並通過垂簾之議，開始了歷史上慈禧太后的垂簾聽政時代。本劇試圖將慈禧當成一個「女人」，而非一個政治人物來看待，從一部份非政治且帶著同情的角度來描寫慈禧的前半生，並適度融合西方劇場的編劇手法，為舊的故事帶來新的看法。 《黛玉焚稿》改編自徐進編劇的越劇《紅樓夢》。描述寶玉將通靈寶玉丟失之後，患了傻病遲遲不癒，賈母等人私下商議決定替寶玉娶進寶釵來沖喜治病。黛玉聽聞這個消息之後，傷心欲絕而一病不起，在病中想到寶玉背叛自己，憤而將充滿兩人回憶的詩稿與詩帕都燒了，過不久便離開人世。寶玉發現自己錯娶寶釵，哭鬧著想去探望林妹妹。在得知林妹妹死訊之後，前往黛玉靈前哭祭，但是早就為時已晚。本改編劇本將越劇原情節與唱詞適度保留，並參考《紅樓夢》原著與歐陽予倩所寫京劇劇本《黛玉焚稿》，在不影響原著精神的前提之下，加入作者個人看法加以改編。In this thesis contains two plays: original written Beijing opera play “Behind the Curtains” （垂簾）and “Daiyu Burns her Manuscripts”（黛玉焚稿） adapted from Yueju opera（越劇）. Author’s reflections for both two plays are also included. “Behind the Curtains” is a story of The Empress Dowager Cixi （慈禧太后）, beginning from her early years at the age of 16, to her role from “behind the curtains” which lasts for 10 whole years. In this 10 years, Cixi changed from a innocent young girl with beautiful, colorful dreams to a young woman aware of her unstable state so she decided to fight for herself and her only son. She finally succeeded, and the ear of “behind the curtains” had since begun. I wanted to bring a new point of view to the character Cixi, to take her as a “woman” instead of a “female politician.” So as to free me from the burden of real history and be able to create a play that is sympathetic to what Cixi had been through and what she really did or perused. I also combined some western playwright techniques with the traditional Beijing opera way in order to bring new life to this old story. “Daiyu Burns her Manuscripts” was adapted from the Yueju opera version of “The Dream of the Red Chamber” （紅樓夢）into a Beijing opera version. The story is mainly between Jia Baoyu （賈寶玉）and Lin Daiyu（林黛玉）. Jia Baoyu was cheated to marry Xue Baochai （薛寶釵）to cure his madness resulted from the lost of his luminescent jade. When Lin Daiyu heard about the marriage, she thought her was betrayed and was heartbroken, so she burned all her poetry which full of memories with Jia Baoyu, then she died with grief. The lyrics from the Yueju opera version was partly preserved, and the origin novel and the version adapted by Ouyang Yuqian （歐陽予倩）were also my reference materials