Theater
The Foreskin Show (包皮皮包) is a puppet show that explores the fascinating and bizarre world of ritual circumcision. The performance will be staged by the recently formed multicultural puppet company, RenJianBao Puppet Theater (人間包偶戲院), a collaboration of experimental puppeteers from the US, Taiwan and Mexico. The story centers on a group of young terrorists who kidnap baby boys from hospitals around the world in an effort to save their foreskins.
* Dream Community (夢想社區), 9, Ln 541, Kangning St, Shijhih, Taipei County (台北縣汐止市康寧街541巷9號)
* Tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
* Tickets are NT$150. For more information call (09) 2615-0419
Taipei Traditional Arts festival (臺北市傳統藝術季). This weekend's performances begin with Kenny Wen and the girl erhu band Perfect Ten (溫金龍與十全十美女子樂團), who will play some traditional Chinese stringed music tomorrow evening. On Sunday, the Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir evokes mIories of youth with their Back to Childhood performance.
* Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei (台北市延平路南98號)
* Tomorrow's performance begins at 7:30pm and Sunday's at 2:30pm
* Tickets are NT$200 to NT$800 and are available through NTCH ticketing
Romeo & Juliette — French Pop Opera (羅密歐與茱麗葉 — 法國流行歌劇) is France's most successful musical to date and one of the greatest love stories of all time. The rivalry between two families is backed by a musical score that has taken the French music charts by storm.
* Sun Yat-sen MIorial Hall (國父紀念館), 505 Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市仁愛路四段505號)
* Today, tomorrow, Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
* Tickets are NT$1,000 to NT$6,000 and are available through NTCH ticketing
The Half-Mile Great Wall (半里長城) by Ping Fong Acting Troupe (屏風表演班) takes a humorous look at the building of the Great Wall.
* Novel Hall (新舞臺), 3-1 Sungshou Rd, Taipei (台北市松壽路3-1號)
* Today tomorrow, Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
* Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,500 and are available through NTCH ticketing (Note: NT$500 to NT$800 seats are sold out)
Monkey King at Spider Cave (孫悟空大戰蜘蛛精) is a performance 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 DIon and his hoard of evil insects.
* Kaohsiung Cultural Center's Chih-Teh Hall (高雄市立文化中心室德堂), 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Kaohsuing City (高雄市五福一路67號)
* Tomorrow at 7:30pm
* Tickets are NT$250 to NT$800 and are available through www.artsticket.com.tw
Classical Music
Taishin Arts Center Lunch Time Concert — Magical Violinist (台新金控藝文中心午間音樂會 — 魔幻提琴手). Part of the Taishin Arts Center's (台新金控藝文中心) Fifth Taishin Arts Award Exhibition, this one-hour concert will feature violinist Lin Tien-chi (林天吉) and pianist Chen Dan-yi (陳丹怡). Lin is currently the assistant conductor of Taipei Symphony Orchestra and Principal Violin II at the Taipei Sinfonietta and Philharmonic Orchestra (台北愛樂室內及管弦樂團). Chen is the music director of the Dolce Jazz Combo (Dolce爵士樂團). The duo will perform Brahms' Hungarian Dance No.5 in F-sharp Minor, Ravel's Tzigane: Concert Rhapsody for Violin and Piano, Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen, Op.20 in C Minor, and other works.
* At the Taishin Arts Center, 2F, 118 Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市仁愛路四段118號2樓)
* Admission is free
* Today at 12:30pm
Andrei Yeh Piano Recital (葉孟儒鋼琴獨奏會). Recognized for his outstanding performances of the music of Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Schostakovich, he has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taipei and in Russia. He will give concerts in Taichung tomorrow and Taipei on Sunday. The program will include Chopin's four Ballades, Ballade in G Minor, Op.23, Ballade in F Major, Op.38, Ballade in A-flat Major, Op.47, and Ballade in F Minor, Op.52, and Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No.8 in B Major, Op.84.
* Saturday at the Taichung County Seaport Art Center (台中縣立港區藝術中心), 21 Chungchen Rd, Chingshui Township, Taichung County (台中縣清水鎮忠貞路21號), and Sunday at the National Concert Hall, Taipei.
* Tickets for the Kaohsiung and Taichung concerts cost from NT$200 to NT$500 and for the Taipei concerts cost from NT$300 to NT$1,000 through ERA ticketing
* Saturday and Sunday at 2:30pm
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 the Children's Month celebrations, the NSO will present concerts tailored for children and their parents. Following the performances 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 thIe is animals and the musical tales to be performed are Ukrainian composer Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and French composer Saint-Saens' Suite The Carnival of the Animals. The former work is a classic tale loved by children worldwide, and the latter is an orchestral suite of 14 movIents that depicts a different animal in each movIent. Featuring NSO assistant conductor Chang Yin-fang (張尹芳), stage director 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 marks the third collaboration between If Kids Theatre (如果兒童劇團) and the NSO.
* Tomorrow and Sunday at the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hsinchu County (新竹縣文化中心演藝廳), 146 Hsiencheng 9th Rd, Chupei City, Hsinchu County (新竹縣竹北市縣政九路146號), and April 21 at the National Taichung Library Chungsing Concert Hall (台中市中興堂), 291-3 Chingwu Rd, Taichung City (台中市精武路291之3號)
* As of press time, all tickets for the Hsinchu concerts are sold out. For the matinee and evening concerts in Taichung on April 21, tickets range from NT$300 to NT$800. Visit www.artsticket.com.tw for details
* Tomorrow at 7:00pm, Sunday at 2:30pm, and April 21 at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Dancing Elves — 2007 Dan-Yi Chen Piano Recital (舞動的精靈 — 2007陳丹怡鋼琴獨奏會). Other than a lunchtime concert today (see above), Chen will perform at the National Recital Hall in Taipei on Monday. Chen, praised for her elegant style and immaculate technique, will play a program of piano works spanning the classical era through the 20th century, including Ravel's Miroirs, Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.21 Op.53 Waldstein, and Chopin's Four Impromptus.
* At the National Recital Hall, Taipei
* As of press time, NT$300 tickets are sold out, but NT$400 tickets are still available through NTCH ticketing
* Monday at 7:30pm
2007 Pro Arte Piano Trio 10th Anniversary Concert Series (伯牙鋼琴三重奏 「十年友誠」系列音樂會). Since its inception in 1997, Pro Arte Trio has placed a special Iphasis on exquisite chamber music and presented innumerable concerts featuring nationally acclaimed performers and composers. Featuring pianist Huang Jen-ling (黃貞綾), cellist Liu Chu-chuan (劉姝嫥), and violinist and Pro Arte Trio Director Lee Chun-ying (李俊穎), the trio will present Beethoven's Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op.11, Paul Schoenfeld's Cafe Music, and Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio in A Minor, Op.50.
* Tomorrow at the National Museum of Prehistory (國立台灣史前文化博物館), 1 Museum Rd, Taitung City (台東市博物館路1號), Monday at the National Concert Hall, Taipei, May 6 at the Chih-shan Hall, National CKS Cultural Center, Kaohsiung City (高雄中正文化中心至善廳), 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市五福一路67號), and May 16 at the Hsinchu Municipal Performance Hall (新竹市立演藝廳), 17 Tungta Rd Sec 2, Hsinchu City (新竹市東大路二段17號)
* Free admission for the Taitung concert. Tickets cost from NT$300 to NT$1,200 for the Taipei concert, NT$200 to NT$300 for the Kaohsiung concert and NT$100 to NT$200 for the Hsinchu concert through NTCH ticketing
* Monday and May 6 and May 16 at 7:30pm; Tomorrow at 2pm
Sous le ciel de Paris — Li I-ching Violin Recital (巴黎的天空下 — 李宜錦小提琴獨奏會). Li, the first concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra since 2004, will hold two concerts in Taipei and Hsinchu with a program of works by French composers. The program will include Poulenc's Sonata for Violin and Piano, FP119 Faure's Violin Sonata No.1 in A Major, Op.13, Chausson's PoIe in E-flat Major, Op.25, Lee Che-yi's (李哲藝) Sous le ciel de Paris (在巴黎的天空下) for Violin Solo, and Ravel's Tzigane.
* Tomorrow at the National Recital Hall, Taipei, and April 17 at the National Chiao Tung University Arts Center (交通大學藝文中心), 1001 Tahsueh Rd, Hsinchu City (新竹市大學路1001號)
* For the Taipei concert, tickets range from NT$350 to NT$500 and are available through NTCH ticketing. For the Hsinchu concert, tickets cost from NT$100 for students and NT$200 for the general public and are available through National Chiao Tung University Library and Student Union (交通大學浩然圖書館與活動中心) at 03-5712121 X52666 or X59056 as well as the Eslite Bookstore Hsinchu Branch, 68 Hsinyi St, Hsinchu City, Taoyuan (桃園縣新竹市信義街68號) at (03) 527-8907 X254. For detailed information, please call (03) 571-2121 X31953
* Tomorrow and Tuesday at 7:30pm
Contemporary
This weekend there's a great lineup tonight of bands known for putting on good live shows at Velvet Underground (地下絲絨), located next to the Shinkong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) building just outside the Taipei Main Station MRT's Exit No. 6. Tonight features electronica act Digihai, expat punk band Consider the Meek, fusion combo They're Lisa (他們是力殺), Index, and popular expat band Public Radio, who play instrumental funk, reggae, dance hall, alt-country, lounge and punk. Tomorrow it's Consider the Meek again, with Io-punks Hindsight (光景消逝) and Riddlewave.
* Bands take the stage tonight at 7pm and tomorrow at 6:30pm
* Admission is NT$300 or NT$250 for students
* 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
Tonight is Friday the 13th and The Wall (這牆) is celebrating with a concert by pop-rock bands 13 (拾參) and Tizzy Bac. Tomorrow features indie band Baby Bears (熊寶貝). On Sunday it's acclaimed San Francisco punk band NOFX, whose music encompasses styles ranging from melodic hardcore to skate punk and ska. Opening for NOFX are Consider the Meek and Hong Kong hardcore band King Lychee (荔枝王). Advance tickets (NT$700) can be ordered at White Wabbit Records (小白兔唱片行), which is downstairs inside The Wall's shopping complex, or at www.the-wall.com.tw. Then on Wednesday there's a triple-header with garage band Rabbit Is Rich (兔子很有錢), Black Faith with Sonic Pace and indie-pop band Mrs This (這位太太). And Thursday it's another round of Challenging the Fire (火焰大挑戰), a battle of up-and-coming bands.
* Entrance tonight and tomorrow is NT$400. Sunday is NT$700 for advance tickets or NT$800 at the door. Wednesday is NT$300 and Thursday is NT$150
* Shows start at 8pm except for Thursday, which starts at 7pm
* 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
Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) presents house jazz combo J.E.G. tonight, pop singer Shino Lin (林曉培) tomorrow, and pop-rock singer Marty Young with pop-rock group Beetle Band (甲蟲) Sunday. Monday night is open-jam night, when anyone with a song or an instrument — including the occasional touring rock stars — can perform. Tuesday, it's Your Low End (憂樂園) and pop-rock band Fuzzy, Wednesday features neo-prog rockers Formula and indie-pop singer Bibi Chao (趙之璧), and on Thursday it's Japanese acoustic guitarist Ken Ohatke.
* The music starts at 9:30pm each night
* Entrance tonight and Wednesday is NT$350. Tomorrow is NT$400. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday is NT$300. On Monday there is a one-drink minimum
* 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
Tonight at Living Room (小客廳), comedy hypnotist Brian David Phillips takes the stage with Peking opera actress and guest hypnotist Patsy Wu for a family-friendly, bilingual comedy hypnosis show. Following that indie-pop band Joker takes the stage. Tomorrow it's Martin Acoustic Jazz Trio with trumpet player Hans Peter Ockert, then unplugged indie act MOS, followed by singer-songwriter Mayonnaise (美乃滋). Tuesday features taro master Eiffel (塔羅老師艾菲爾) and folk singer Hank. Wednesday it's The Hoofin' Show (踢躂舞玩家), modern jazz tap dance with instrumental backup, and bluegrass band Soggy Bagel Boys. Thursday it's finger-picking guitarist Lu Chia-hung (盧家宏), followed by Just for Fun Theater (小客廳劇場), "interactive personal expression," with Nagano Masataka and Cara Speckhals.
* Tonight's comedy hypnosis starts at 8pm, followed by the music at 10pm. Tomorrow's jazz starts at 8pm, followed by the indie music at 10pm. Hank plays Sunday from 8pm to 9pm while the taro reading runs from 8pm to 10pm. Wednesday's Hoofin' is from 8pm to 9pm and the bluegrass is from 9pm to 10pm. Thursday's music starts at 8pm, followed by the theater from 10pm to midnight
* Entrance is NT$300 for each individual show, except for Thursday's theater, which is NT$100
* 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
Underworld (地下社會) presents Rock Jam 45 (石頭果醬45) Neo Shark (腦剎) and Crasher tonight, nu-metal bands Overdose and Blackout tomorrow, and rock group Pepper Cats (胡椒貓) with punk-pop outfit Lucky Pie (拉奇派) on Wednesday.
* 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
Toronto underground hip-hop group Rhythmicru, who mix old-skool sounds a la A Tribe Called Quest with newer sounds in the vein of Talib Kwal, perform tonight at Grooveyard in Taichung. Meanwhile at Groovecity, it's legendary Austin, Texas, World Music combo Atash (see story on Page 13), whose music is a fusion of jazz and Middle Eastern styles. Rhythmicru hit Groovecity tomorrow, while folk band FreIason Outlaws perform at Grooveyard.
* The music starts at 9pm
* Grooveyard entrance is NT$200 tomorrow. Groovecity entrance 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
Exhibition
The 5th Taishin Arts Award Exhibition (第五屆台新藝術獎入圍特展). With a jury made up of over 70 cultural workers selecting best works out of more than 1,000 local exhibitions and performances staged in Taiwan each year, the Taishin Arts Awards recognizes outstanding new works in the visual and performing arts and hands out cash prices to the winners in the two categories. The exhibition features works by the five finalists for the visual arts award and the 10 finalists for the performing arts award. The winner in each category will be announced on Sunday.
* Taishin Financial Tower Art Gallery (台新金控大樓元廳), 2F, 118 Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市仁愛路四段118號2樓). Open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 6pm. Call (02) 3703-6955
* Until May 4
Post Martial Law vs. Post 89 — the ContIporary Art in Taiwan and China (後解嚴與後八九 — 兩岸當代美術對照). The exhibition aims to present a comprehensive survey of both sides of the strait in order to discover what distinct art expressions Ierged in these two separate areas during the same period.
* National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung (國立台灣美術館), 2 Wuchuan W Rd Sec 1, Taichung (台中市五權西路一段2號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Call (04) 2372-3552
* Until June 17
A Tale of Chasing Shadow (逐影記). A personal reflection on fragments of life through a series of photographic images that don't pretend to be something other than what they are.
* Shin Leh Yuan Art Space (新樂園藝術空間), 15-2, Ln 11, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 2, Taipei (中山北路二段11巷15-2號). Open Wednesday to Sunday from 1pm to 8pm. Call (02) 2561 1548
* Until April 22
Hunting — Tsai I-ju Solo Exhibition (潛獵 — 蔡宜儒綜合媒材個展). Combining contIporary ink painting and other media, the award-winning artist Iploys various ink techniques to create a series of abstract paintings.
* AKI Gallery (也趣), 4, Ln 140, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 7, Taipei (台北市中山北路七段140巷4號). Open Tuesday to Thursday from 1pm to 9pm; Friday to Sunday from 11am to 10:30pm. Call (02) 2872-5296
* Until April 22
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not
This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built