Taiwan's theater companies adapt Western classics to the stage adeptly. Many, however, take an experimental approach - shorthand for taking liberties to justify the stage sensibilities of the production's director - and alter the original work beyond anything recognizable.
That said, Green Ray Theater Troupe (綠光劇團) has done something out of the ordinary with Of Mice and Men. The production sticks as closely as possible to the script without adding the usual experimental flourishes because the company wants to present local audiences with "the best of world literature so that they don't have to go abroad" to see theater classics. It is a formula that has brought Green Ray much success in the past.
The troupe will perform John Steinbeck's story of George and Lennie, two depression-era farm hands who dream of buying their own plot of farmland so they can lead a simple life. Despite their hard work and careful planning, their plan comes to naught after one of the two unwittingly commits murder.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF GREEN RAY THEATER TROUPE
The production, which begins tonight at the Metropolitan Hall, brings together some of Taiwan's top theater professionals: Luo Bei-an (羅北安), whose last theatrical effort was the extremely popular remake of the Pulitzer-prize winning play Proof, teams up with film director Ke Yi-chung (柯一正).
Last week writer Wei Lingling (魏玲靈) unloaded a remarkably conventional pro-China column in the Wall Street Journal (“From Bush’s Rebuke to Trump’s Whisper: Navigating a Geopolitical Flashpoint,” Dec 2, 2025). Wei alleged that in a phone call, US President Donald Trump advised Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi not to provoke the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over Taiwan. Wei’s claim was categorically denied by Japanese government sources. Trump’s call to Takaichi, Wei said, was just like the moment in 2003 when former US president George Bush stood next to former Chinese premier Wen Jia-bao (溫家寶) and criticized former president Chen
As I finally slid into the warm embrace of the hot, clifftop pool, it was a serene moment of reflection. The sound of the river reflected off the cave walls, the white of our camping lights reflected off the dark, shimmering surface of the water, and I reflected on how fortunate I was to be here. After all, the beautiful walk through narrow canyons that had brought us here had been inaccessible for five years — and will be again soon. The day had started at the Huisun Forest Area (惠蓀林場), at the end of Nantou County Route 80, north and east
A six-episode, behind-the-scenes Disney+ docuseries about Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Rian Johnson’s third Knives Out movie, Wake Up Dead Man, are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week: Chip and Joanna Gaines take on a big job revamping a small home in the mountains of Colorado, video gamers can skateboard through hell in Sam Eng’s Skate Story and Rob Reiner gets the band back together for Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. MOVIES ■ Rian Johnson’s third Knives Out movie, Wake Up Dead Man
Politics throughout most of the world are viewed through a left/right lens. People from outside Taiwan regularly try to understand politics here through that lens, especially those with strong personal identifications with the left or right in their home countries. It is not helpful. It both misleads and distracts. Taiwan’s politics needs to be understood on its own terms. RISE OF THE DEVELOPMENTAL STATE Arguably, both of the main parties originally leaned left-wing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) brought together radicals, dissidents and revolutionaries devoted to overthrowing their foreign Manchurian Qing overlords to establish a Chinese republic. Their leader, Sun Yat-sen
RSS