The Ping-Fong Acting Troupe (屏風表演班), whose founder Hugh Lee (李國修) died of cancer last month, announced on Monday that it will suspend performances “indefinitely” after its current tour ends in December.
The company will shut down after the tour of the comedy Shamlet — inspired by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet — concludes on Dec. 29 because of operational and artistic concerns, Moon Wang (王月), Lee’s wife and Ping-Fong’s program director, said in a statement.
Lee once said that for a theater group to sustain its operations, the most important thing was its works, but unlike typical enterprises whose products are connected by a brand, a theater group’s works are linked by their creator, the statement said.
Lee created and directed 30 of the 40 productions the group had staged since it was founded in 1986, and without him, that connection was lost, Wang said.
She said her husband had agreed before his death to close the group after it had put on all of its planned performances.
She said she could imagine the regret many people would feel after learning that the group was ending its operations, but she believed the spirit of the company would carry on.
The Shamlet tour opens in Taipei on Sept. 6 and will end in Taoyuan on Dec. 29.
Lee died of colon cancer on July 2 at the age of 57.
Since Ping-Fong was founded, the troupe has performed 1,793 shows in front of 1.49 million people.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS