Theater
New Havoc in the Dragon Palace (新.鬧龍宮), a production in the Contemporary Legend Theater’s (當代傳奇劇場) Legendary Classic Drama Series, takes to the stage staring Dai Li-wu (戴立吾) as Monkey in a family-friendly revival of the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West (西遊記).
■ Sunday at 7:30pm
■ Auditorium of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, 21 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei City (台北市中山南路21號)
■ Tickets are NT$500 to NT$1,500; available through NTCH ticketing and online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Can Three Make It (三人行不行), a production by the Ping Fong Acting Troupe (屏風表演班) in which three performers make on a multitude of roles in an exploration of Taiwan social issues. Many of the shows in the 30-show run are already sold out, but a few tickets remain for selected performances.
■ Sunday 11am and Thursday at 7:45pm
■ Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號)
■ Tickets are NT$600; available through NTCH ticketing and online at www.artsticket.com.tw
The Door (門) by HuiDance (匯舞集) featuring choreography by Tsai Hui-chen (蔡慧貞) and Francesco D’Astici of I.T Fused Dance in Italy.
■ Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
■ Wei Wu Ying Center for the Arts (高雄縣衛武營藝術文化中心), 449-1 Nanjing Rd, Fengshan City, Kaohsiung County (高雄縣鳳山市南京路449-1號)
■ Tickets are NT$350; available through NTCH ticketing and online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Green Ray Theater (綠光劇團) continues its run of Human Condition 5 — The Nature of Male is Wandering Mood (人間條件五— 男性本是漂泊心情), the fifth chapter of its highly acclaimed Human Condition series. Written and directed by Wu Nien-jen (吳念真), the show features the series’ regular cast including actress Lin Mei-hsiu (林美秀) and theater veteran Luo Bei-an (羅北安).
■ Daily at 7:30pm and Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday at 2:30pm (no performances on Monday)
■ Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台), 25, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路3段25號)
Classical music
The National Symphony Orchestra performs The Scheherazade Suite by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, led by conductor Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) conducting and featuring concert-master Tseng Yu-chien (曾宇謙).
■ Tonight at 7:30pm
■ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
■ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,500, available through NTCH ticketing and online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Contemporary
Legacy Taipei, located in a former warehouse at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Tonight it’s disco-funk rockers Cosmos People (宇宙人). Tomorrow, post-rock veterans Sugar Plum Ferry (甜梅號) and We Save Strawberries (草莓救星) take the stage as part of the Lian Lian Kan Festival, which continues on Sunday with Nylas and Mando-pop songwriter and producer Kay Huang (黃韻玲).
■ Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), Center Five Hall (中五館), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號)
■ Shows start at 8pm, except Sunday, which starts at 4pm
■ NT$700 tonight (NT$500 in advance), NT$800 (NT$700 in advance) tomorrow and Sunday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased at ERA ticketing outlets, online through www.ticket.com.tw, www.legacy.com.tw and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
Tomorrow The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists, hosts indie folk group Hush!. On Sunday, Japanese acoustic-electronica duo Mondialito (夢的朵雅) and French indie/pop band Peppermoon take the stage. On Wednesday, Chicago instrumental rock and metal band Russian Circles performs, with local metal band vulner opening.
■ B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Tel: (02) 2930-0162. On the Net: www.thewall.com.tw
■ Shows start at 8pm, except Saturday’s, which starts at 9:30pm.
■ NT$500 tonight, NT$1,200 on Saturday, NT$1,200 on Wednesday. Tickets for all shows, with discounts on advance tickets, can be purchased online through www.thewall.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Tonight indie rock club Revolver hosts live music from Formosa Romance, Flux and Sleeping Brain (眠腦). Tomorrow 88 Balaz (88 顆芭樂籽), Blind Acid Date and Jack Conqueroo take the stage. On Wednesday, it’s more live music from Out to Survive (適者生存) and hardcore metal band Human Brutality (人類暴行).
■ 1-2, Roosevelt Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路一段1-2號), tel: (02) 3393-1678
■ Shows start at 9:30pm
■ Entrance is NT$250 tonight, NT$300 tomorrow and NT$150 on Wednesday. Admission includes one free drink.
Timeless Fusion Party performs tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). Tomorrow Pop singer T-Work (陳零九) and Aboriginal music ensemble Beautiful Haiyan (美麗心民謠) take the stage. Pop rock bands Huiyaodays (火曜日樂團) and Funbox perform on Sunday.
■ 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), tel: (02) 2368-7310. On the Net: www.riverside.com.tw
■ Shows start at 9pm
■ NT$400 tonight and tomorrow and NT$350 Sunday. Tickets can purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Acapella group Voco Novo perform tonight at Riverside Live House (河岸留言西門紅樓展演館) in Ximending. Tomorrow Hong Kong musician and comedian Tats Lau (劉以達) takes the stage.
■ 177 Xining S Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧南路177號), tel: (02) 2370-8805. On the Net: www.riverside.com.tw
■ Shows start at 8:30pm
■ NT$400 tonight and tomorrow. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw/livehouse or tickets.books.com.tw
Tonight Sappho de Base, a late-night jazz/lounge bar, hosts Mark Kuo’s Neo Retro Jazz Trio. Tomorrow, it’s classic soul from Sexual Chocolate. Sappho’s House Band leads an open jam on Tuesday, on Wednesday it’s MaJaM Jazz Band (麻將爵士樂團) and on Thursday, it’s RJ Orchestra (台大騷動爵士大樂團).
■ B1, 1, Ln 102, Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市安和路一段102巷1號B1), tel: (02) 2700-5411. On the Net: www.sappho102.biz
■ Shows start at 10pm. The venue is closed on Sundays and Mondays
■ Entrance is NT$200 tonight and tomorrow; NT$300 on Thursday; free on other nights.
Acclaimed Aboriginal singer Samingad (紀曉君) performs every Thursday at EZ5 Live House, which hosts Mando-pop singers backed by a live band every night.
■ 211, Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市安和路二段211號), tel: (02) 2738-3995. On the Net: visit www.ez5.com.tw
■ Shows run from 9:45pm to 12:30am
■ Entrance fee (includes two drinks) ranges from NT$600 to NT$850, depending on the performer
On Fridays at Italian restaurant Capone’s, Taipei Swing holds dance socials with live music from electric blues band Bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ). On Saturday, drummer Abe Nbugu Kenyatta leads a band playing music from his hometown of New Orleans. Iris sings “romantic chansons” Sunday nights and on Wednesdays, it’s Latin music from guitarist Roberto Zayas. Duo Blurrs Bros perform blues and American songbook tunes on Thursdays.
■ 312, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段312號), tel: (02) 2773-3782
■ Live music from 9pm to 11:30pm on Fridays, 8pm to 11:30pm on Saturdays
■ On Fridays, minimum charge of one drink. On Saturdays, minimum charge is NT$300.
The Wall (這牆) programs regular live rock shows at Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區). Pop-rocker No Name takes the stage tonight, and tomorrow it’s Metal core/emo band 831 (八三夭).
■ 1 Dayong Rd, Yancheng Dist, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市鹽埕區大勇路1號). On the Net: pierer-2.khcc.gov.tw, www.thewall.com.tw
■ Shows start at 7:30pm
■ NT$400 tonight and NT$600 tomorrow
In the mainstream view, the Philippines should be worried that a conflict over Taiwan between the superpowers will drag in Manila. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr observed in an interview in The Wall Street Journal last year, “I learned an African saying: When elephants fight, the only one that loses is the grass. We are the grass in this situation. We don’t want to get trampled.” Such sentiments are widespread. Few seem to have imagined the opposite: that a gray zone incursion of People’s Republic of China (PRC) ships into the Philippines’ waters could trigger a conflict that drags in Taiwan. Fewer
March 18 to March 24 Yasushi Noro knew that it was not the right time to scale Hehuan Mountain (合歡). It was March 1913 and the weather was still bitingly cold at high altitudes. But he knew he couldn’t afford to wait, either. Launched in 1910, the Japanese colonial government’s “five year plan to govern the savages” was going well. After numerous bloody battles, they had subdued almost all of the indigenous peoples in northeastern Taiwan, save for the Truku who held strong to their territory around the Liwu River (立霧溪) and Mugua River (木瓜溪) basins in today’s Hualien County (花蓮). The Japanese
Pei-Ru Ko (柯沛如) says her Taipei upbringing was a little different from her peers. “We lived near the National Palace Museum [north of Taipei] and our neighbors had rice paddies. They were growing food right next to us. There was a mountain and a river so people would say, ‘you live in the mountains,’ and my friends wouldn’t want to come and visit.” While her school friends remained a bus ride away, Ko’s semi-rural upbringing schooled her in other things, including where food comes from. “Most people living in Taipei wouldn’t have a neighbor that was growing food,” she says. “So
Whether you’re interested in the history of ceramics, the production process itself, creating your own pottery, shopping for ceramic vessels, or simply admiring beautiful handmade items, the Zhunan Snake Kiln (竹南蛇窯) in Jhunan Township (竹南), Miaoli County, is definitely worth a visit. For centuries, kiln products were an integral part of daily life in Taiwan: bricks for walls, tiles for roofs, pottery for the kitchen, jugs for fermenting alcoholic drinks, as well as decorative elements on temples, all came from kilns, and Miaoli was a major hub for the production of these items. The Zhunan Snake Kiln has a large area dedicated