Department of Cultural Affairs

Photo from Mr. Eyeball
The cast of Muscular Men’s Hell, a stage play directed by Chen Bo-wei whose stage name is Mr. Eyeball.

By Yali Chen
 
Chen Bo-wei (陳柏維), who goes by the stage name Mr. Eyeball (眼球先生), is a multidisciplinary artist. His newest stage play Muscular Men’s Hell (猛男地獄), a theatrical production combining fashion, fitness, sports, dance, and visual arts, ran from October 23 until October 25 at the Family Theater on the second floor of Taipei City Hall.
 
Chen earned studied drama at Taipei National University of the Arts. In 2002, he created the brand Eyeball Loves Globe (眼球愛地球). Chen uses the unique brand image of a human eyeball to symbolize his distinctive creative style across a variety of fields. He is also a picture book writer, brand designer, singer, columnist, theater screenwriter, director, and actor.


Photo from Mr. Eyeball
Taiwanese actress Wen Chen-ling.


Photo from Mr. Eyeball
Taiwanese actor Patrick Lee is also a bodybuilder.

This year, Chen worked with Lo Pei-an (羅北安), actor/director at Greenray Theatre Company (綠光劇團), to produce Muscular Men’s Hell, which centers on the latest craze for fitness training.
 
The idea was born when Chen worked in Shanghai. “I noticed that many of my friends were going to the gym to get in shape. And they liked posting gym selfies on social media,” he said. The photos just showed them doing their workouts in the gym.


Photo from Mr. Eyeball
Four Fitness Factory instructors perform.
 
Through his work, Chen is trying to represent the dream of having a more muscular physique. It is also meant to make audiences consider their own levels of fitness and health.
 
Chen found his cast among the instructors at Fitness Factory (健身工廠), a famous Taiwan gym. Six instructors performed on stage with actors Wen Chen-ling (温貞菱) and Huang Chien-wei (黃健瑋) and actor-turned-bodybuilder Patrick Lee (李沛旭). A senior dancer from Cloud Gate Dance Theater and a nanguan master also performed. Nanguan (南管) is a classical music style originating in Fujian and also popular in Lukang, on Taiwan’s west coast, as well as among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.
 
“We want to change ourselves, but what is it we want to change?” Chen asked. “I hope Muscular Men’s Hell will inspire people to think about the answer to this question, and in doing so get to know themselves better.”