An opera dealing with a resistance movement to Japanese occupation by Hakka-speaking Taiwanese in 1895 is striving for authenticity by using all languages involved — Hakka, Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), Japanese and Paiwan, said Chen Sheng-fu (陳勝福), an opera director working with the Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Culture Group.
The piece, titled Bu Yueh, Huo Shao (步月.火燒), is based on the true story of the “Liudui” Hakka self-defense alliance, Chen said.
It is to be staged in Pingtung City’s Millennial Park tomorrow, he added.
Photo: Lo Hsin-chen, Taipei Times
The four languages involved would give the audience a new perspective on the resistance movement, Chen said, adding that the group is seeking to create an immersive environment in which the audience feels like having traveled back in time to late 19th century Pingtung.
Separately, a performance by the Si Troupe (喜劇團) tomorrow is to reserve half the tickets for workers who have helped keep the COVID-19 pandemic at bay, troupe manager Weng Chuan-wei (翁銓偉) said on Monday.
Weng said that 100 tickets each have been given to the Taoyuan Police Department and the Taoyuan Fire Department, while Taoyuan General Hospital received 70 tickets.
Military personnel and their family members have also been invited, alongside local welfare groups, he added.
The performance would feature the troupe’s most renowned work, Oh, Bother it All (不管三七二十一), which is based on several pieces of ancient Chinese literature, troupe deputy manager Pan Yu-tien (潘御天) said.
The troupe seeks to present a fresh take on Chinese literature, setting itself apart from the way the pieces are usually taught to students, Pan said.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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