by Sun Son Theatre (身聲演繹劇場) is a multidisciplinary work that combines dance, music and theater. Performers are silhouetted onto a black curtain as they crawl, twirl and appear to sleep. Folk musician Pan Li-li (潘麗莉) chants while fire dance artist Chang Yu-wei (張育瑋) illuminates the stage. In addition to Indian rhythms played by tabla drummer Toshihiro Wakaike and sitar player Ryohei Kanemistu, both from Japan, traditional music instruments from more than 10 different regions orchestrate a live world music sound that includes the didgeridoo, the kulintangan from Malaysia, drums from Nepal, Easter Island and Africa, as well as the Tibetan gong.
▲ The Bamboo Curtain Studio (竹簾工作室), 36, Ln 88, Zhongcheng E Rd Sec 2, Danshui, Taipei County (台北縣淡水鎮中正東路二段88巷36號)
▲ Today, tomorrow and Sunday at 8pm and Sunday at 9pm (Note: All performances except Sunday at 9pm are sold out)
▲ Tickets are NT$400 and are available through NTCH ticketing

is part of the 2008 Sixth Sense in Performance Art Festival (2008第六種官能表演藝術祭). Actor, stand-up comic and disability activist, Alan Shain created a dramatic monologue that gives the audience some insight into the complex, frustrating and hilarious life he leads. This one-man show takes us into the living room of a young man, who like Shain has a disability, waiting to go out on a date. He worries about all the things anyone worries about before going out with someone new. Shain’s particular frustration is with the “Para Transport Bus” — which, as it grows later and later, appears that it won’t show up. Will he ever get to his date?
▲ Guling Street Theater (牯嶺街小劇場), 2, Ln 5, Guling St, Taipei City (台北市牯嶺街5 巷2號)
▲ Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$300 and are available through NTCH ticketing

Taiwan’s raucous legislature and zany television shows are some of the fodder for (瘋狂年代), the latest work by Ping-Fong Acting Troupe (屏風表演班). The play within a play tells the story of a theater group that attempts to produce a musical that captures the spirit of Taiwan. The trope they eventually hit on is betel nut beauties.
▲ Kaohsiung City Cultural Center (高雄文化中心至善廳), 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市五福一路67號)
▲ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,500 and are available through NTCH ticketing

我們 Women uses the American solo performance techniques of Verbatim Theater and Anne Bogart’s Viewpoints Method from New York to examine a full spectrum of issues: from university scandals to espionage, sex and power to giving birth in a chicken. This bilingual performance incorporates movement, sound, comedy, and drama in a melange of dramatic plots. Brought to you by American actress and director Miriam Mikiel Grill.

▲ Admission is NT$300. Call 093-534-3484 or 0989-760-032 for tickets. Leave a message with your name, number of tickets, phone number and the performance date

▲ Tonight, tomorrow, Sunday, May 16 and May 17 at 7:30pm

▲ The Zoo, 68 Daguan Rd, Taichung City (台中市大觀路68號)


Classical music

Passionate Strings — NSO Tchaikovsky Cycle 9 (NSO發現柴科夫斯基9 — 揮灑奔騰) sees Taiwan’s National Symphony Orchestra (國家交響樂團) performing under the baton of guest conductor Alexander Vedernikov. The program features solo violinist Ilya Grubert and includes Tchaikovsky’s Coronation March, Op. 50 and his Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, along with Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 100. There will be a pre-concert lecture in the 1F lobby of the National Concert Hall given by Peng Kuang-lin (彭廣林).

▲ Sunday at 2:30pm

▲ National Concert Hall, Taipei City

▲ Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,500 and are available through NTCH ticketing


The Man in His Image — NCO Music Doorway Series With Tsai Shih-ping (NCO音樂與蔡詩萍 — 男回歸線) follows on from a concept initiated in 2006 that involves cooperation between the National Chinese Orchestra (國家國樂團) and well-known authors. This year, the author is Tsai Shih-ping (蔡詩萍), whose work focuses on deconstructing stereotypical images of men and contemplates the results of breaking traditional boundaries.

▲ Tomorrow at 7:30pm

▲ National Recital Hall, Taipei City

▲ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$600 and are available through NTCH ticketing



Little Universe — Ars Trio Taipei (印象三重奏團 — 小宇宙) sees the local trio performing Bartok’s Romanian Dances and Ravel’s Five Greek Songs, both world premieres of a new arrangement for trio and piano, as well as Smetana’s Moldau and Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne.

▲ Tomorrow (Taichung) and Sunday (Taipei) at 2:30pm

▲ Taichung’s Shinmin Senior High School Art Center (新民高中藝術中心), 289, Sanmin Rd Sec 3, Taichung City (台中市三民路三段289號) and the National Recital Hall, Taipei City

▲ Tickets are NT$300 for the Taichung concert and NT$300 to NT$500 for the Taipei concert, available through NTCH ticketing



With E1002 — Night of Tchaikovsky (E1002打造柴可夫斯基), percussion group E1002 presents its interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Children’s Album as arranged by Anatoly Ivanov.

▲ Tuesday at 7:30pm

▲ National Recital Hall, Taipei City

▲ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$600 and are available through NTCH ticketing



Contemporary

Jazz Your Mind is tonight at Sappho de Base, the favorite late night hang-out for Taipei’s jazz musicians. But watch out tomorrow — the venue switches gears for the hard-rocking theatrics of Sky Burial (天空埋葬), which is currently working on a new album. On Tuesday night, it’s a set by the Grace Jazz Trio, with an open jam afterwards. On Wednesday, it’s The Soul Express, a “super-group” of Taipei-based session musicians playing blues, funk, rock, and reggae. DJ Zulu visits on Thursday, spinning what he calls “timeless and positive black sounds.”

▲ B1, 1, Ln 102, Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市安和路一段102巷1號B1). Call (02) 2700-5411 (after 9pm) or visit www.sappho102.biz

▲ Performances begin at 10:30pm

▲ No entrance fee


No bands are listed for tonight at Underworld (地下社會). Maybe they’re getting ready for tomorrow evening’s appearance by Drumcorps, a one-man DJ show from Berlin. Drumcorps, the stage name of Aaron Spectre, mixes breakcore, which could be described as thrash metal, drill ’n’ bass and post-rock, driven by sampled breakbeats. For part of his show, Spectre plays electric guitar, shredding heavy metal riffs on top of rapid-fire beats. Drumcorps enjoys a widespread following and has received accolades from Pitchfork and BBC Radio 1, whose presenter said of his CD Grist: “This one scared me within an inch of my life.” The event is being presented by Back 2 the Future (B2TF), who brought you last week’s Night of the Living Metal.

▲ B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei City (台北市師大路45號B1). Call (02) 2369-0103 or visit www.upsaid.com/underworld for more information

▲ Bands start playing after 9pm. The bar is open from 8pm daily, closed Mondays

▲ Limited seating for tomorrow’s show; advance tickets NT$500, NT$700 at the door. Contact venue for details. Entrance for Wednesday shows is NT$100. Before midnight on Tuesdays and Thursdays, drinks are buy-one-get-one-free