Ya-Ling Peng
ISEA Bio(s) Available:
ISEA2024
YA-LING PENG is an actress, director and playwright, as well as Artistic Director of the Uhan Shii Theatre and Festival Organiser.
She started her theatre career in 1981, reckoned as the first generation of Taiwan contemporary theatre practitioners. In 1988-1991, Ya-Ling studied acting in London with Animate Theatre and London School of Mime and Movement, and joined the theatre company Tragic Carpet performing at The Edinburgh International Festival.
In 1993, she founded Uhan Shii theatre, a group working on oral history with their first project about reminiscence “Echoes of Taiwan”. In the last two decades, Ya-Ling Peng worked especially with Hakka women, challenging traditions, breaking conventions and promoting change. One of these traditions was exchanging girls and enslaving them. ‘Voices of Hakka Women’ (stage show) toured many Hakka villages, sharing their painful stories and pushing for a shift in their status.
She has also collaborated with many professional groups, nationally and internationally, and organised two Magdalena festivals in Taiwan. Mrs Peng received two awards for raising awareness of Hakka culture and community: Hakka Art Contribution Award 2008 from Hakka Affairs Council, and Hakka Award of Drama, 2008 from Kaohsiung City Government.
