Theater
The Vagina Monologues (陰道獨白). Though teachers in the US still prohibit their students from saying the V-word, the play with the same word in its title will return to Taipei on March 30 and 31 for V-Day. The Vagina Monologues introduces a divergent mixture of female stories to delve into the mystery of the female experience.
* Armed Forces Cultural Center (國軍文藝活動中心) 69 Zhonghua Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市中華路一段69號)
* Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm
* Tickets are NT$500 (NT$400 for students) and are available through ERA ticketing system
Taipei Traditional Arts Festival (2007年台北市傳統藝術季). This annual event features a wide range of music and theater shows by performers from Taiwan and China. The festival kicks off tomorrow at 7:30pm with A performance by celebrity drum masters (鼓王名家展絕技), which provides an invaluable showcase of the beiguan style of music which dominates traditional theater in Taiwan, and includes performances by beiguan musician Chiu Huo-rong (邱火榮). On Sunday, The drum virtuoso cup, national drum contest finals (鼓王盃全國鼓藝大賽) will be held in the plaza of Zhongshan Hall. Come out and watch as the best local percussion talent battle it out for the top prize. The festival continues on Monday with The Resonating music of Sanxi and Zhaozhou (晉風潮樂競爭鳴), a performance by percussionists from Chinese Culture University and Tainan University of the Arts. On Tuesday, members from Taiwan University of the Arts, Department of Chinese Music brings The Zhejiang Dramatic Flare Soars (浙風戲韻響雲霄) to the stage, a celebration of beiguan music.
* Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei (台北市延平南路98號)
* Performances begin at 7:30pm, except for Sunday's performance, which begins at 9:00am
* All performances are NT$200 to NT$800, except Sunday's performance which is free
Lost Shadows and Oculus by Cloud Gate Theater (雲門舞集) is a performance in two parts. The first part is the world premier of British choreographer Akram Khan's Lost Shadows. The second part of the program will be Wu Kuo-chu's (伍國柱) Oculus, a masterpiece performed by Cloud Gate 2. The untimely death of Wu in 2006 at the age of 36 was a shock to the dance world and Cloud Gate Theater director and founder Lin Hwai-min (林懷民) wanted to put on Oculus to commemorate the young choreographer.
* The National Theater, Taipei
* Today, tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:45pm and Sunday at 2:45pm
* Tickets are NT$400 to NT$2,000 and can be purchased from www.artsticket.com.tw
Bellydance Superstars is the brainchild of Miles Copeland who takes various beauties, attires them in Middle-Eastern garb and fuses tribal, punk rock, ballet, gymnastic styles to create a exotic performance that is as much erotic as it is showy.
* Taipei International Convention Center (台北國際會議中心)
* Today and tomorrow at 7:45pm and tomorrow at 2:45pm
* Tickets are NT$800 to NT$2,500 and are available through ERA ticketing
Monkey King at Spider Cave (孫悟空大戰蜘蛛精) is an episode adapted from the Chinese classic Journey to the West (西遊記) by shadow puppeteer Larry Reed and The Puppet and Its Double Theater (無獨有偶工作室劇團). Monkey King at Spider Cave features the heroic Monkey King and his disciples battling against the flesh-hungry Spider Demon and his hoard of evil insects.
* Chiayi Performing Arts Center (嘉義縣表演藝術中心), 265 Jianguo Rd Sec 2, Minsyong Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣民雄鄉建國路二段265號)
* Tomorrow at 7:30pm
* Tickets are NT$250 to NT$800 and are available through www.artsticket.com.tw
Events
The fight to save the Losheng Sanatorium from demolition continues tomorrow with another free outdoor concert at WombBloc, located at 3F., No. 67, JhongJheng 2nd Rd., Kaohsiung City, Taiwan (高雄市中正二路67號3樓). The concert begins 3pm tomorrow. More information can be found at www.lofi.url.com.tw/womb/events/20070331_LoSheng_02.htm or at www.lofi.url.com.tw/womb/
Classical Music
Taipei Symphony Orchestra — The Firebird (火鳥). This concert will focus on the theme of ballet and music through Stravinsky's masterwork The Firebird. The concert performance will feature conductor Lin Tien-chi (林天吉), dancer Hsu Yu-yu (許友俞), narrator Juliana Tseng (曾智寧), and the TSO, and it is expected to take the audience on an excursion into childhood fairy tales and explore the beauty of classical ballet through popular ballet scores, including excerpts of Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Stravinsky's The Firebird. This will be a combination of music and storytelling, and is tailored for kids and families.
* At the Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), at 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei (台北市延平南路98號)
* As of press time, NT$400 to NT$800 tickets are sold out, but NT$200 seats are still available through NTCH ticketing outlets
* Tonight at 7:30pm
National Symphony Orchestra's Forever Tales 2007 — Carnival of Animals (國家交響樂團2007永遠的童話 — 古典動物園). As part of "Children's Month" celebrations in April, not only the TSO (see above), but also the NSO will present concerts tailored for children and their parents. Following the themes of "The pied Piper" in 2004 and "Secrets in the Woods" in 2005, the NSO will stage another concert in its Forever Tales children's series. This time, the theme is animals and the musical tales to be performed are Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and French composer Saint-Saens' Suite The Carnival of the Animals. Featuring NSO assistant conductor Chang Yin-fang (張尹芳), stage dirctor Hsu Wan-ying (徐琬瑩), narrator Chao Tzu-chang (趙自強), and pianists Lin Hui-ying (林慧英) and Chen Yun-ho (陳芸禾), this performance is the third collaboration between If Kids Theatre (如果兒童劇團) and the NSO.
* At the National Concert Hall, Taipei tonight through April 1, at the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hsinchu County (新竹縣文化中心演藝廳), 146 Hsiancheng 9th Rd, Chupei City, Hsinchu County(新竹縣竹北市縣政九路146號) on April 14 and 15, and at the National Taichung Library Chunghsing Concert Hall (台中市中興堂), 291-3 Chingwu Rd, Taichung City (台中市精武路291之3號) on April 21.
* As of press time, all tickets for the Hsinchu concerts are sold out. For the Taipei concerts tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday, NT$400 tickets are still available. For the Taichung concerts on April 21, tickets range from NT$300 to NT$800. See www.artsticket.com.tw for details.
* Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm; April 14 at 7:00pm; April 15 at 2:30pm; and April 21 at both 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Diageo Charity Concert from Soochow University — Keep Walking! Keep Caring! (帝亞吉歐雙溪樂饗 — 管弦樂團慈善音樂會). It is a pure coincidence that the Soochow University String Orchestra will also present a concert on the theme of animals, just like the NSO (see above). What's more, the two different concerts will also have overlapping programs. Nevertheless, each concert has its own unique qualities. Featuring concert hosts Peng Guang-lin (彭廣林) and Kao Shao-yi (高劭宜), and conductor Hwang Wei-ming (黃維明), the concert will include Saint-Saens' Suite Le Carnaval des Animaux, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, and Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.
* At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
* Tickets range from NT$600 to NT$1,200 and are available through NTCH ticketing
* Monday at 7:30pm
Contemporary
Tonight at Bliss, three well-known expat rockers debut their new band. Unrelentless is singer and guitar player Dave Archdall, of Melbourne incendiary rock outfit The Sailors; lead guitarist Duncan Cameron, ex the Degenerators, Ass9, and Tarry Bush; and drummer Ryan O'Connell, from S.U.E. They play loud, "punked up" rock covers — "Think The Ramones meets Chris Isaak meets your mom at a bar."
* The Unrelentless take the stage at 10:30pm
* Entrance is NT$100
* Address: 148 Xinyi Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市信義路四段148號). Call (02) 2702-4371 for more information
At The Wall (這牆), both tonight and tomorrow's Tizzy Bac EP release concerts are sold out. Never mind, the following days feature a slew of quality bands headed to Spring Scream who you won't see every weekend. On Tuesday, crank up the volume and be prepared to mosh and skank it up with fast and furious Japanese punk and ska bands The Savas, Double Negative, 49 Ball, and Trash Box with special guest Higuchi Makiko. On Wednesday, it's more good loudness from Japan, with the "noisy and annoying" funk/punk of Ground Cover and the lyrical, post-punk "poetry rock" of Flight of Idea.
* Entrance Tuesday and Wednesday is NT$300
* Bands take the stage at 8pm
* B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.the-wall.com.tw
For more punk, hard-hitting Japanese neo-punk quartet The Savas also play at Underworld (地下社會) on Tuesday, along with Taichung's Bike (拜客) and straight-up punk-rock sons of bitches Children Sucker (表兒). Then, on Wednesday, it's expat post-rock three-piece To a God Unknown. Their songs are "long," they don't have a singer, and you "should listen to them with your eyes closed," the band's Spring Scream bio says.
* The bar opens at 8pm and bands take the stage at 9pm
* Entrance is NT$300
* B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei (台北市師大路45號B1). Call (02) 2369 0103 or visit www.underworld-taipei.blogspot.com for more information
Tonight The Living Room (小客廳) presents Mayonnaise (美乃滋), followed by the "down-home, foot-stompin' country blues" of Muddy Ramblers David Chen and Conor Prunty and the hillbilly swing of outlaw punk and honky tonk outfit TK and the Playboys.
* Mayonnaise takes the stage at 9pm, followed by the country bands at 10pm
* Entrance is NT$300 for Mayonnaise and NT$300 for the country music
* 3F, 8 Nanjing E Rd Sec 5, Taipei (台北市南京東路五段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com
Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) features G.J.O. Big Band: Groovin' Jazz Orchestra (搖擺爵士大樂團) tonight. Tomorrow, pop-rock band A-Pay (阿霈) takes the stage for a mini concert. On Sunday, it's award-winning New Age guitarist Dong Yun-chang (董運昌) and Sharp Three guitarist Goh Kurosawa. Monday night is open-jam night, when anyone with an instrument — including the occasional touring rock star — can jam on stage. Tuesday: folk group Miss Dessy and pop-rock band La Petite Nurse (小護士). Wednesday: more pop-rock with New Yorker (紐約客) and Candy Wine (糖果酒). Thursday: singer Debbie Hsiao (蕭賀碩) and Puyuma musicians Wu Hao-en (吳昊恩) and Chi Jia-ying (紀家瑩).
* The music starts at 9:30pm each night
* Entrance tonight is NT$400, tomorrow is NT$350, Sunday is NT$300, on Monday there is a one-drink minimum, Tuesday and Wednesday is NT$300, and Thursday is NT$350
* B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1). Call (02) 2368-7310, or visit www.riverside.com.tw
Alt-rock bands Kikirose (奇蹟螺絲) and Survival Influence (存活勢力) play at Velvet Underground (地下絲絨) tonight, followed tomorrow by metal acts State of Emergency, Hades, Crusher and Horsemen, and someone called A-Wei (阿威) on Thursday.
* Bands take the stage tonight and Thursday at 9pm. A time has not been listed for tomorrow's show
* Entrance is NT$300 or NT$250 for students tonight and Thursday, and NT$350 or NT$250 for students tomorrow
* B1, 50 Zhongxiao W Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市忠孝西路一段50號B1). Call (02) 2314-1868 or visit www.velvet-underground.com.tw
At Grooveyard in Taichung, it's wicked indie legends .22 tonight and the funk-, rock- and groove-playing Public Radio tomorrow. Meanwhile at Groovecity, it's Martin van Buell acid jazz ensemble tonight and the slick jazz of Taichung's newest jazz ensemble Sofa Blue tomorrow.
* Grooveyard shows start at 9:30pm. Groovecity performances start at 9pm
* Grooveyard entrance is NT$200. Groovecity minimum charge is NT$300
* Groovecity is inside Tiger City (台中老虎城旁停車場) at 120 Henan Rd Sec 3, Taichung (台中市河南路三段120號老虎城). Grooveyard is located at 2F, 105 Huamei W Rd, Taichung (台中市華美西街105號2樓). Visit www.grooveyardtaiwan.com or call 0939-574-737 for more information
Performance
High-speed rail engineers watch out! On Wednesday, standup comedian Hartley Pool will be doing "an informal, free show" upstairs at On Tap. "There may be an episode of Peep Show or other suitably high-quality British entertainment beforehand," Pool says. Other acts include Australian performance artist Mark Goding, crazy Canadian Kurt Penney, possibly one or two newbies, and Pool's alter egos Sammy the Psychic Cat and the oft-heckled Corky Clarkson.
* The comedy starts at 10pm
* Entrance is free
* 49, Ln 308, Guangfu S Rd, Taipei (台北市光復南路308巷49號). Call (02) 2741-5365. Correction: The address for On Tap was incorrectly printed as Ln 208 in the restaurant review published March 9. Taipei Times apologizes for this error.
Exhibitions
Taiwan's Panorama — the Realistic Illusion: Solo Photo Exhibition by T.J. Chiang (台灣橫著看-真實的假象:蔣載榮攝影個展). Made from a panoramic camera with a super wide 146-degree angle of view, the photographs of visions defy categorization as they are between digital and analog, color and monochrome, realistic and surrealistic. Chiang employs various techniques to convey different faces of Taiwan's political and social lives between 2004 and 2006.
* Taipei Fine Arts Museum (台北市立美術館), 181 Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市中山北路三段181號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30am to 5:30pm. Call (02) 2595-7656
* Until May 6
Kevin Yu 2007 Solo Exhibition (游正烽2007年個展). To dwell on the contrast between representation and replication, the France-educated artist juxtaposes and confronts the found objects with painted images and compares the elements of replication against geometric collages so as to highlight the heterogeneity.
* Main Trend Gallery (大趨勢畫廊), 209-1 Chengde Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市承德路三段209-1號). Open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm. Call (02) 2587 3412
* Until April 21
Invisible City — A Joint Exhibition by Wang I-ren and Lin Hsin-hung (看不見的城市-王怡人林信弘影像聯展). The Italy-educated duo use daily-life images as elements of their expressions as Wang quietly whispers her reflections on life and memories on the printed landscapes while Lin draws his inspiration from Italo Calvino's Invisible City to contemplate on items and locales from every-day life.
* Pethany Larsen Gallery (Pethany Larsen藝坊), 2F, 30, Ln 45, Liaoning St, Taipei (台北市遼寧街45巷30號2樓). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 7pm. Call (02) 8772 5005
* Until April 29
Last week Joseph Nye, the well-known China scholar, wrote on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s website about how war over Taiwan might be averted. He noted that years ago he was on a team that met with then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), “whose previous ‘unofficial’ visit to the US had caused a crisis in which China fired missiles into the sea and the US deployed carriers off the coast of Taiwan.” Yes, that’s right, mighty Chen caused that crisis all by himself. Neither the US nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) exercised any agency. Nye then nostalgically invoked the comical specter
Relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic have flourished in recent years. However, not everyone is pleased about the growing friendship between the two countries. Last month, an incident involving a Chinese diplomat tailing the car of vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) in Prague, drew public attention to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) operations to undermine Taiwan overseas. The trip was not Hsiao’s first visit to the Central European country. It was meant to be low-key, a chance to meet with local academics and politicians, until her police escort noticed a car was tailing her through the Czech capital. The
April 15 to April 21 Yang Kui (楊逵) was horrified as he drove past trucks, oxcarts and trolleys loaded with coffins on his way to Tuntzechiao (屯子腳), which he heard had been completely destroyed. The friend he came to check on was safe, but most residents were suffering in the town hit the hardest by the 7.1-magnitude Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake on April 21, 1935. It remains the deadliest in Taiwan’s recorded history, claiming around 3,300 lives and injuring nearly 12,000. The disaster completely flattened roughly 18,000 houses and damaged countless more. The social activist and
Over the course of former President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) 11-day trip to China that included a meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping (習近平) a surprising number of people commented that the former president was now “irrelevant.” Upon reflection, it became apparent that these comments were coming from pro-Taiwan, pan-green supporters and they were expressing what they hoped was the case, rather than the reality. Ma’s ideology is so pro-China (read: deep blue) and controversial that many in his own Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hope he retires quickly, or at least refrains from speaking on some subjects. Regardless