Yesterday I went to Chiayi Performing Arts Center to watch a marvelous show called “The Last Dinner”. When I walked in the theater I could see the delicate setting with shining silver tableware, glass goblet, candles, and beautiful oil painting on the stage. It was Chelsea Restaurant. Afterward, the story started with the characters shown on the stage one by one. It’s Shi Mu Drama Club’s dinner gathering after graduating from their senior high school for 10 years. Four members are all invited into this gathering, but no one knows who invited them. They look at the vacant seat trying to recall who the last person is. Finally, one of the members utters the name, “Xiao Ya”, that they promised never mentioned her once again 10 years ago. After taking this forbidden name, they are forced to face the truth of the event that happened 10 years ago in Shi Mu Drama Club.

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     This drama is an awesome show even though the plot is simple and not complex. “Xiao Ya” was the youngest member in the drama club. 10 years ago, she was sexual abused by the drama teacher before the significant national drama competition. All of the members knew about this event, but no one wanted to stand out and help her. 10 years later, she gathered everyone again to ask for help. However, they still chose to keep silent. In the end, hopeless Xiao Ya set a fire to burn them all. Therefore, they reunite in hell. They play the scene again and again until they have the courage to face the darkest side in their mind. It is like 10 years ago in the drama club, the club leader always said “If you forget the line, let’s do it again.”

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     My favorite part in this play is the mysterious vibe. During the dinner gathering, one of the members came up with an idea, “If we pretend to be Xiao Ya, maybe we can find out the truth of the incident.” As a result, they started to sit on the vacant seat and played Xiao Ya’s role, but we could only see the pretender’s back due to the position. This stage design is extremely amazing! A spooky atmosphere was created by undiscovering the actor’s facial expression. I highly recommend you to watch this astonishing suspense drama.