Theater
Wonderwork (誰是聖誕老公公), staged by If Kids Theater (如果兒童劇團) for the second time in four years, tells the story of an old man who is inexplicably chosen to be of one of the world’s 500 Santa Clauses. As he helps deliver presents to children, it dawns on him that people see him as a greedy, stingy and inconsiderate person.
▲The 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; tomorrow and Sunday at 10:30am,
▲NT$300 and NT$350 tickets are sold out, NT$450 to NT$1,000 still available through NTCH ticketing outlets or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
In Han Zi Hsiao Yu Shuo Xiang Sheng/Comic Cross Talk on Chinese Characters (漢字笑語說相聲) Chinese cross-talk (相聲) master Wu Jau-nan (吳兆南) teams up with performers from the Taipei Quyi Troupe (台北曲藝團) in a performance that analyzes Chinese characters, phrases and poems.
▲Plum Wine Factory (烏梅酒廠) at Huashan Culture Park (華山創意文化園區), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號)
▲Tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$300, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Human Condition (人間條件), Green Ray Theater’s (綠光劇團) newest play, centers on the life of a 17-year-old girl who rebels against her dysfunctional family’s listless existence. One day, the grandmother’s spirit returns and possesses her teenage granddaughter.
▲Tainan Municipal Cultural Center (台南市立文化中心), 332, Jhonghua E Rd Sec 3, Tainan City (台南市中華東路三段332號)
▲Tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,000, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Based on the Laurence Olivier Award-winning play by British playwright Martin McDonagh, the Pillowman (黑色童話─枕頭人) tells the tale of Katurian, a fiction writer, who, together with his mentally challenged brother, is interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a number of bizarre child murders occurring in his town. [See story above.]
▲Tainan Human Theater Factory (台南人戲工場), 3F, Baida Education and Cultural Center (百達文教中心3樓), 85 Shengli Rd, Tainan City (台南市勝利路85號)
▲Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets for Sunday are sold out; NT$350 seats are available for the other performances through NTCH or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Taiwan’s expulsion from the UN in 1971 serves as the background for Ping-Fong Acting Troupe’s (屏風表演班) latest work Stand by Me (六義幫), which has extended its run due to popular acclaim. Written and directed by Hugh Lee (李國修), the story tells of three love stories set between 1904 and 1991 and touches on themes such as loyalty, baseball and clan spirit. The performance features 28 actors playing 115 characters in 50 scenes.
▲National Theater, Taipei City
▲Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30
▲NT$500 tickets are sold out, NT$800 to NT$3,500 seats are available through NTCH outlets or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Classical music
Leonard Slatkin & Ein Heldenleben (史拉特金與英雄的生涯) brings renowned US conductor Leonard Slatkin, who is widely known for his association with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, to Taiwan to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra in a program that features Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben and works by Hayden and Hindemith.
▲Sunday at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$2,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Sound of Kaohsiung Wind Ensemble 2009 New Year Concert (高雄之音管樂團2009新年音樂會) presents the orchestra, made up primarily of alumni from Kaohsiung Municipal Girls’ Senior High School (高雄女中) and National Kaohsiung Marine University (高雄海洋學院), performing a mixed program that includes Philip Sparke’s Tameside Overture, Jacob de Haan’s Oregon and the theme music from Howl’s Moving Castle.
▲Today at 7:30pm
▲Kaohsiung City Concert Hall (高雄市音樂館演奏廳), 99 Hesi Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市河西路99號)
▲Tickets are NT$150, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
YU Flute Choir Magic Carnival(游雅慧長笛藝術音樂精選系列 ─ 魔法．童話．嘉年華) performs flute music for the whole family. The all-female group is one of the largest ensembles of flautists in Taiwan and has been hugely innovative in presenting flute music in a way that can be enjoyed by children.
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲Ilan Performing Arts Center (宜蘭縣文化局演藝廳), 482, Jhongshan Rd Sec 2, Ilan City (宜蘭市中山路二段482號)
▲Tickets are NT$100 and NT$200, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Contemporary
Tonight The Wall hosts indie-pop rockers Tizzy Bac tonight. [See story on Page 13]. Tomorrow it’s Kaohsiung-A-Palooza, with grunge band KoOk (庫克), indie-electronica band Orange Doll (橘娃娃), punk rockers Fire Ex (滅火器) and ska group Shy Kick Apple (害羞踢蘋果), all of which hail from Taiwan’s second city.
▲B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.the-wall.com.tw for more information
▲Starts at 8pm and 7pm tomorrow
▲Admission is NT$500 tonight and NT$400 tomorrow and includes one drink
Tonight at Witch House (女巫店) comedic indie-rockers Won Fu (旺福樂團) take to the stage. [See story on Page 13.] Playing tomorrow is Green!Eyes (綠色眼睛), which describes its music as having a “flavor of guitar pop and a bit of country.” Jazzy/bluesy act Kukao (鼓號大樂隊) appears on Thursday.
▲7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號). For more information call (02) 2362-5494 or visit www.witchhouse.org
▲Performances start at 9:30pm. Restaurant/bar with queer/feminist bookstore and large collection of board games open 11am to midnight Sundays through Wednesdays; 11am to 1am Thursdays through Saturdays
▲Entrance is NT$400 tonight and NT$300 tomorrow and includes one drink
Metamorphosis (變形蟲爵士樂團), one of the first groups in Taiwan to perform and record original jazz music, plays tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). Veteran Hakka musician Ayu Huang (黃連煜) 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
▲Shows start at 9:30pm tonight and 9pm tomorrow
▲Cover is NT$350 tonight and NT$450 tomorrow and includes one drink
On Sunday Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館), a new venue located in Ximending’s historic Red House Theater (西門紅樓), hosts hip-hop acts Tripoets (參劈) and MJ116 (頑童), alt-rockers Monkey Pilot (猴子飛行員) and Taiwan’s top rapper, MC Hot Dog.
▲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
▲Show starts at 8:30pm
▲NT$600 entrance includes one drink
Dafu Jazz Project appears tonight at Sappho de Base. The Sappho House Band hosts the venue’s weekly open jam on Tuesday. On Wednesday The Chris Stiles Jazz Trio takes to the stage to perform original compositions and arrangements.
▲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
Tonight at Tone 56 Live Bar Rubber Band plays rock, pop and dance music. Loaded, the house band, plays everything from “rock classics to today’s hits” tomorrow. On Sunday, Blues Vibrations perform their fun combination of surf-rock, blues and jam-band music.
▲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
▲Music shows go from 9:30pm to 12:30am tonight and tomorrow; 7:30pm to 9:30pm on Sundays
▲No admission fee
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During the Japanese colonial era, remote mountain villages were almost exclusively populated by indigenous residents. Deep in the mountains of Chiayi County, however, was a settlement of Hakka families who braved the harsh living conditions and relative isolation to eke out a living processing camphor. As the industry declined, the village’s homes and offices were abandoned one by one, leaving us with a glimpse of a lifestyle that no longer exists. Even today, it takes between four and six hours to walk in to Baisyue Village (白雪村), and the village is so far up in the Chiayi mountains that it’s actually
It’s a discombobulating experience, after a Lord of the Rings trilogy that was built, down to every frame and hobbit hair, for the big screen, to see something so comparatively minor, small-scaled and TV-sized as The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. The film, set 183 years before the events of The Hobbit, is a return to Middle-earth that, despite some very earnest storytelling, never supplies much of an answer as to why, exactly, it exists. Rohirrim, which sounds a little like the sound an orc might make sneezing, is perhaps best understood as a placeholder for further cinematic
These days, CJ Chen (陳崇仁) can be found driving a taxi in and around Hualien. As a way to earn a living, it’s not his first choice. He’d rather be taking tourists to the region’s attractions, but after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the region on April 3, demand for driver-guides collapsed. In the eight months since the quake, the number of overseas tourists visiting Hualien has declined by “at least 90 percent, because most of them come for Taroko Gorge, not for the east coast or the East Longitudinal Valley,” he says. Chen estimates the drop in domestic sightseers after the
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