無論從任何角度衡量,反共戲劇並沒多大藝術價值,但若單就美學尺碼或意識形態予以漠視,甚或全盤否定,則我們所採取的戲劇史觀未免狹隘了些。此項研究試圖綜觀戲劇學界對反共戲劇的評價,進而重新檢視五○年代反共戲劇人士之理念。本研究旨在反駁一個廣爲接受卻未經檢驗的看法,藉以指出:權力與主體的關係並非一面倒,主體服膺權力召喚的同時亦有「失序演出」的潛意識抵拒,正如一意抵拒的行動體(agent)會於無意間附和權力的「說溜了嘴」(Freudian slip)是一樣的。換言之,反共劇作家未必是全然喪失自主性的應聲蟲,且當時的文學創作與官方政策之間的謀和,並非想當然耳地天衣無縫。倘若我們要「接近」歷史真相,仔細研讀當時的理念與劇作,找出敘述邏輯裡的矛盾和罅隙,關照其題材擇取、形式包裝、文字運用及戲劇手法,以填補過去研究之不足,實有迫切必要。囿於篇幅之限,本文針對反共戲劇的兩種論述進行剔析:其一,晚近學者對反共戲劇的觀察與評價;其二,當時積極參與劇運人士的戲劇論述。這項工程的意義並不限於我們如何看待1950至70之間的戲劇發展,它會進而改變我們如何理解1970之後的變化。作爲初步研究,本文討論的範疇無意涵蓋五○年代所有關乎反共戲劇的書寫,僅以主要人士的論述爲例,細查其立言基礎,以及語意間較易爲人忽略的雙聲(double-voiced)現象,雖無能勾勒歷史的完整風貌,卻足以對約定俗成的看法提出修正。
No matter how we look at it, it is a fact that the anti-communist drama of the 1950s bears little artistic interest. However, if we dismissed its overall output simply from the aesthetic or ideological point of view, our views of history of Taiwan modern theatre would then be limited, not to say, narrow-minded. This paper aims to first delineate how the dramatic activities of the 1950s have been assessed by later generations and then analyze how contemporary exponents of the time made a strong case for the misguided movement. The primary purpose of the paper is to reexamine a period in history that has long been overlooked. In order to gain a better sense of the interwoven relations between politics and drama of the time-marked at times by outright complicity, while at other times by suppressed incompatibility-it is imperative that we scrutinize the movement's dramatic manifestos and search for gaps, silences, or contradictions in their rationale that at first glance appears seamless.