HOUSTON, August 14, 2024 — Taiwan’s The Puppet & Its Double Theater brought their charming and moving production of The Selfish Giant to Asia Society Texas as part of a nationwide tour supported by Taiwan Academy and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The globally acclaimed production adapted Oscar Wilde’s classic children’s story of a giant who closes off his beautiful garden from the children who want to play in it, only to relent after realizing that it is actually the children who bring life to the space.

The story was told through a narrator, who retained most of Wilde’s original text and also sang and played percussion backed by a cellist, while two actors and puppeteers played the characters. This was done through the ingenious use of a variety of puppetry and theatrical techniques, including a series of boxes that formed the garden and the giant’s body, shadow puppetry, hand puppets, and large pieces for the giant’s head, hands, and feet. 

In addition to shows of all types and scales, The Puppet & Its Double Theater presented interactive workshops with the troupe. In an all-ages afternoon workshop at Asia Society Texas, audiences had the chance to learn about the company and its history. The performers demonstrated a wide variety of puppets and styles, including string puppets, rod puppets, and glove-style hand puppets, which audiences had the opportunity to try and out and improvise with the puppets on their own. The performers also spoke about the importance of creativity in their work, with the finale turning two pieces of packing foam into puppets with individual characters through simple manipulation of the material and faith in the audience’s ability to use their imaginations to envision new worlds.

Creative Team

Original Story 
Oscar Wilde

Director 
Chia-yin Cheng

Company/Tour Manager 
Chien Lin

Music Designer 
Fei-tsuei Luo

Stage/Puppet Designer 
Man-ling Yeh

Stage/Mechanical Designer 
Meng-ju Yu

Lighting Designer/Stage Manager 
Helmi Fita

Costumer Designer 
Yi-ching Wang

Live Musician 
Yi-Te Huang

Storyteller/Foley 
Yu-jane Liu

Actors Bo-wei Yang 
Yun-ru Chen

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.