Theater
Dubbed the Queen of Henan opera, an art form that is also known as bangzi (梆子), star performer Wang Hai-lin (王海玲) teams up with Taiwan Bangzi Company (台灣豫劇隊) to perform Granny Liu (劉姥姥), which is based on the story Granny Liu Visits Daguan Park from Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢).
▲Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台), 25, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段25號)
▲Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$200 to NT$1,200, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Renowned Australian puppeteer Richard Bradshaw returns to Taiwan with his hugely successful Magic Shadows of Bradshaw, which pushes the boundaries of shadow puppetry. The production will tour the country through the end of this month, beginning this week in Taipei
▲National Experimental Theater, Taipei City
▲Today at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Having toured Europe, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong and received rave reviews, La Fin des Terres is the latest work by Compagnie Philippe Genty, which is led by master illusionist of the theater, Philippe Genty. It tells a story about a meeting of two persons set against a landscape of dreams, using a fascinating mixture of puppetry, mime, dance and illusions.
▲National Theater, Taipei City
▲Thursday at 7:45pm, Sunday at 2:30pm, Monday to Wednesday at 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$2,500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Sindian Riverside Culture Festival (新店水岸文化節) offers a weekend filled with family-oriented entertainment including outdoor art and book fairs, magic shows, concerts and a performance by U-Theater (優人神鼓) that runs from 3pm to 4:30pm on Sunday.
▲Eastern bank of the Bitan (碧潭) riverside area, roughly a five minute walk from Xindian MRT station (新店捷運站)
▲Tomorrow and Sunday from 10am to 5pm
▲All activities are free of charge. For more information, call (02) 2918-3181 X14
Classical
The First Taipei International Lyricism in 20th Century Music Festival (第一屆台北國際二十世紀美好音樂節) presents a series of concerts that run until April 15. Tonight’s concert will feature soprano Evelyn Chen (陳秩怡) and the Jade Quartet. The program will include Schonberg’s Verklarte Nacht Op. 4 and Vier Lieder Op. 2, Hindemith’s Des Todes for Eine Frauenstimme> and Karl Weigl’s Bilder und Geschichten. Tomorrow’s program will feature works by Korngold and Berg, and Sunday’s program will feature Viennese composers from the first half of the 20th century, including Webern, Bloch, Wellesz and Weigi. Further information can be found at
www.taipei-festival.org.
▲Today, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30pm
▲Novel Hall (新舞台), 3-1 Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路3-1號)
▲Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,000, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Everlasting Light — An Evening of Beethoven (永恆的光輝 — 貝多芬之夜) will see the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra (長榮交響樂團) under Gernot Schmalfuss perform with outstanding local soloists including violinist Lu Si-ching (呂思清) and pianists Yang Shu-yuan (楊淑媛) and Wei Tse-tao (魏子韜). The program will include Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C-Major, Op. 56, Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major “Emperor,” Op. 73 and Symphony No. 5 in C-Minor, Op. 67. Further information can be found at www.proartist.com.tw.
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$250 to NT$2,500, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
NSO Song of Wayfarer 2009 — On the Highway 66 (NSO 旅人之歌 — 馳騁66號公路) features violinist Joseph Lin (林以信) performing with the National Symphony Orchestra (國家交響樂團) under the baton of Ling Jahja (林望傑). The program will include Tyzen Hsiao’s (蕭泰然) Violin Concerto in D, Op. 50, as well as Bernstein’s Candide Overture, the Asian premiere of Chesky’s New York Variations and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess Suite.
▲Today at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$600 to NT$1,500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Contemporary
No shows are scheduled this weekend at The Wall (這牆) and Witch House (女巫店), as everyone will likely be at Spring Scream. [See stories on Pages 13 and 14, and above.]
Tomorrow night VU Live House hosts Kenny From Casino (賭場肯尼), a group that combines emo, punk, Brit-pop and garage, and Mary Sees the Future.
▲B1, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1). Tel: (02) 2314-1868
▲Show begins at 11pm
▲Entrance fee is NT$500 for men and NT$400 for women, all you can drink
Experimental jazz quintet Freetalk (烏野薰概念五重奏) plays at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) tonight. Mando-pop singer Lan You-shi (藍又時) appears tomorrow.
▲B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1), next to Taipower Building (台電大樓). Call (02) 2368-7310 or visit www.riverside.com.tw for more information
▲Show starts at 9:30pm tonight and 9pm tomorrow
▲Entrance fees: NT$400 tonight and tomorrow; includes one drink
Tonight Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館) hosts Mando-pop singer Lan You-shi (藍又時). Tomorrow afternoon Japanese acapella group Chicken Garlic Steak takes to the stage, while in the evening JS and Z-Chen (張智成) play classic Western rock covers of the 1990s.
▲177 Xining S Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧南路177號). Call (02) 2370-8805 or visit www.riverside.com.tw for more information
▲Shows tonight and tomorrow evening start at 8:30pm, tomorrow afternoon’s show runs from 2:30pm to 5pm
▲Entrance NT$450 tonight and tomorrow night; tomorrow’s cover charge includes one drink
Metamorphosis (變形蟲爵士樂團), one of the first jazz groups in Taiwan to perform and record original music, plays tonight at Sappho de Base. Tomorrow Canadian singer-songwriter Mister Green and Highway 9 (九號公路) take to the stage. T and T Jazz Trio plays Tuesday, and Emo Jazz Trio appears Wednesday. Double J and Friends take to the stage on Thursday.
▲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 for more information
▲Performances begin at 10:30pm on weekends, 10pm on weekdays
▲No admission fee
Every Wednesday night at the Cosmopolitan Grill there’s a blues open mic held by the Blues Society on Taiwan. All are welcome to bring their instruments and sit in on guitar, bass or drums.
▲1F, 218 Changchun Rd, Taipei City (台北市長春路218號1樓). Call (02) 2508-0304 or visit www.cosmo.com.tw for more information
▲8pm to 11pm every Wednesday
▲No admission fee
EZ5 Live House hosts Mando-pop singers backed by a live band every night. Highlights this week include Phoebe Huang (黃嘉千) tonight, Julia Peng (彭佳慧), a major draw who appears every Tuesday, and
Liu Wei-zen (劉偉仁) on Tuesday and Wednesday.
▲211, Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市安和路二段211號). Call (02) 2738-3995 or visit www.ez5.com.tw for more information
▲Music shows run from 9:45pm to 12:30am
▲Entrance (including two drinks) ranges from NT$600 to NT$850, depending on the performer
One-man electro-rock band Sonic Deadhorse and hard-rock group Black Summer Days (黑色夏日) play tonight at Underworld(地下社會). Tomorrow evening it’s metal punk bands Total Disruption and Bazooka (鐵拳火箭). Appearing Wednesday are Cage (蓋吉) and emo-pop band Emotion Gate (情緒出口).
▲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
▲Shows are from 9:30pm to 11:30pm and 9pm to 11pm on Wednesdays
▲Entrance is NT$300 tonight and tomorrow and includes one drink; NT$100 on Wednesday
Tonight at Tone 56 Live Bar it’s Loaded, which plays everything from “rock classics to today’s hits.” Tomorrow night is “lounge night” with a guest DJ. On Sunday several singers and former contestants on the television show Super Idol (超級偶像) are scheduled to appear.
▲1F, 56, Minquan E Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市民權東路三段56號1樓), near the corner of Fuxing North (復興北) and Minquan East (民權東) roads.
▲Tel: (02) 2517-3869
▲The music starts at 9:30pm tonight and tomorrow and 7pm on Sundays
▲No admission fee
Exhibition
A Jiacha Experience (間 — 交叉體驗) is a joint exhibit by French artist BlueScreen and Taiwan’s The Puppet and its Double Theater (無獨有偶劇團). The interactive installation ponders the meeting points between performance art, new media and contemporary art. It encourages visitors to interact with the exhibit’s environment and play with the objects found within the space to gain a deeper understanding of the process of artistic creation.
▲Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA, Taipei), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei City (台北市長安西路39號). Open daily from 10am to 6pm, closed on Mondays. Tel: (02) 2552-3721. On the Net: www.mocataipei.org.tw
▲Until April 26
Collision Between Taboo and Desire: Hou Chun-ming Works of Print, 1992-2008 (六腳侯氏—衝撞在慾望與禁忌之間的版畫創作1992-2008) displays 13 sets of the artist’s printmaking. Bearing titles such as Erotic Paradise and Paradise Lost for the Heterosexuals, the pieces unflinchingly explore religion, sexual desire and the artist’s own life experiences.
▲National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung (國立台灣美術館), 2, Wucyuan W Rd Sec 1, Taichung City (台中市五權西路一段2號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9am to 5pm. Tel: (04) 2372-3552
▲Until May 24
Tu Wei-cheng (涂維政), Zhang Hong-tu (張宏圖) and Yang Mao-lin (楊茂林) use sculpture and oil painting to investigate history, both real and imaginary, in Mythologies of Contemporary Art by Three Artists (當代藝術神話—三人展).
▲Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM), 181, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市中山北路三段181號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30am to 5:30pm, closes at 8:30pm on Saturdays. Tel: (02) 2595-7656. On the Net: www.tfam.museum
▲Until May 3
Lee Tsai-chien’s Solo Exhibition (李再鈐雕塑個展) features 18 metal objects by Taiwan’s preeminent master of geometrical sculpture. Ancient Greek ideal forms and Buddhist and Taoist philosophy inspire Lee’s monumental creations.
▲Main Trend Gallery (大趨勢畫廊), 209-1, Chengde Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市承德路三段209-1號). Open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11am to 7pm. Tel: (02) 2587-3412. On the Net: www.maintrendgallery.com.tw
▲Until April 25
The natural cycle of growth and decay informs The Day I Saw Past and Future Sceneries Playing (那天我看見昨天和明天風景在遊戲), a solo exhibition by Jang Tarng-kuh (張堂庫). Employing a visual aesthetic that harks back to early modern traditions of landscape painting, Jung’s pastoral canvases depict scenes of overgrown gardens, running brooks and mountains shrouded in mist.
▲Metaphysical Art Gallery (形而上畫廊), 7F, 219, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段219號7樓). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 6:30pm. Tel: (02) 2711-0055. On the Net: www.artmap.com.tw
▲Until April 8
The Yingge Ceramics Museum investigates the human form in Passionate Beings: Contemporary Ceramics of Museum Collection (多情.人—當代陶藝典藏展), an exhibit of 35 sculptures from its permanent collection.
▲Yingge Ceramics Museum (鶯歌陶瓷博物館), 200 Wenhua Rd, Yinge Township, Taipei County (台北縣鶯歌鎮文化路200號). Open Tuesdays to Fridays from 9:30am to 5pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 8677-2727. On the Net: www.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw
▲Until April 19
Ancient Pottery of the Paiwan Tribe in Taiwan (祖靈的居所—台灣排灣族古陶壺特展) shows how ceramics are closely associated with the legends of the Paiwan tribe’s origins, and how pottery helps to perpetuate the tribe’s social hierarchy.
▲National Museum of Natural Science (國立自然科學博物館), 1, Kuanchien Rd, Taichung City (台中市館前路1號). Open from 9am to 5pm, closed Mondays. On the Net: www.nmns.edu.tw
▲Until May 17
The God of Earth in Taiwan (台灣土地公特展) explains the origins of the Earth God (土地公) and why it continues to play an important role in folk worship throughout the country.
▲National Museum of Natural Science (國立自然科學博物館), 1, Guancian Rd, Taichung City (台中市館前路1號). Opens from 9am to 5pm, closed Mondays. On the Net: www.nmns.edu.tw
▲Until May 31
A few weeks ago I found myself at a Family Mart talking with the morning shift worker there, who has become my coffee guy. Both of us were in a funk over the “unseasonable” warm weather, a state of mind known as “solastalgia” — distress produced by environmental change. In fact, the weather was not that out of the ordinary in boiling Central Taiwan, and likely cooler than the temperatures we will experience in the near-future. According to the Taiwan Adaptation Platform, between 1957 and 2006, summer lengthened by 27.8 days, while winter shrunk by 29.7 days. Winter is not
A sultry sea mist blankets New Taipei City as I pedal from Tamsui District (淡水) up the coast. This might not be ideal beach weather but it’s fine weather for riding –– the cloud cover sheltering arms and legs from the scourge of the subtropical sun. The dedicated bikeway that connects downtown Taipei with the west coast of New Taipei City ends just past Fisherman’s Wharf (漁人碼頭) so I’m not the only cyclist jostling for space among the SUVs and scooters on National Highway No. 2. Many Lycra-clad enthusiasts are racing north on stealthy Giants and Meridas, rounding “the crown coast”
March 25 to March 31 A 56-year-old Wu Li Yu-ke (吳李玉哥) was straightening out her artist son’s piles of drawings when she inadvertently flipped one over, revealing the blank backside of the paper. Absent-mindedly, she picked up a pencil and recalled how she used to sketch embroidery designs for her clothing business. Without clients and budget or labor constraints to worry about, Wu Li drew freely whatever image came to her mind. With much more free time now that her son had found a job, she found herself missing her home village in China, where she
In recent years, Slovakia has been seen as a highly democratic and Western-oriented Central European country. This image was reinforced by the election of the country’s first female president in 2019, efforts to provide extensive assistance to Ukraine and the strengthening of relations with Taiwan, all of which strengthened Slovakia’s position within the European Union. However, the latest developments in the country suggest that the situation is changing rapidly. As such, the presidential elections to be held on March 23 will be an indicator of whether Slovakia remains in the Western sphere of influence or moves eastward, notably towards Russia and