Theater
Renowned Japanese performance
duo Eiko Otake and Takashi Koma Otake, generally known as Eiko and Koma, open the 2009 Novel Dance series with Cambodian Stories.
The multi-disciplinary performance, which highlights the duo’s unique style of theater that makes use of
light, shape, movement and
stillness, began when the artists collaborated with art students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2004. [See story on Page 13.]
▲Novel Hall (新舞臺), 3-1 Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路3-1號)
▲Tonight and tomorrow at 8pm, Sunday at 3pm
▲Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,000, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Inspired by a short story penned by best-selling Chinese author Li Yu (李漁) during the early Qing Dynasty, He Is My Wife, He Is My Mother (少年金釵男孟母) by Creative Society Theatre Company (創作社劇團) updates Li’s cross-gender spectacle with a 21st-century sensitivity and wit. The play is performed in Mandarin with English subtitles.
▲Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台), 25, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段25號).
▲Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:3pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$500 to NT$3,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
As part of the ongoing celebrations for the 30th anniversary of Lanling Theatre Workshop (蘭陵劇坊), a pioneering experimental theater troupe, Uhan Shii Theatre Group (歡喜扮戲團) extols women’s sexuality in Cat Walk Awakening (貓仔走醒), which blends Taiwanese ballads with Hakka mountain songs, a genre known for its direct expression of desires and passions.
Red House Theater (紅樓劇場), 10 Chengdu Rd, Wanhua Dist, Taipei City (台北市萬華區成都路10號)
▲Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:3pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$400, available through NTCH ticketing or online at
▲www.artsticket.com.tw
For Crystal Tun-Hwang (水晶瓶中的敦煌), Jade and Artists Dance Troupe’s (肢體音符舞團) latest production, the group’s artistic director and choreographer, Hsu Yu-ju (徐玉如), teamed up with music producer Lin Lung-hsuan (林隆璇) and flutist Eric Chang (張中立) to present a spiritual journey of self-discovery inspired by the murals found inside the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas in Gansu Province, China.
▲Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei City (台北市延平南路98號).
▲Tonight at 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$200 and NT$800, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
U-Theatre brings its six-part ode to its Laoquanshan (老泉山) home, The Mountain Dawn (入夜山嵐), to Taichung this weekend for two performances. The production is a contemplative reflection on the tranquil life the group’s members lead on the mountain.
▲Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中中山堂), 98 Hsuehsi Rd, Taichung City (台中市學士路98號)
▲Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$2,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Classical music
Main Stadium Inauguration Concert — The World Games Concert 2009(2009 迎接世運之夜 — 世運主場館落成音樂會)
opens the new sports venue with a concert featuring the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck, the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor under Ioan Holender and Taiwan’s National Experimental Orchestra (國立實驗合唱團) performing a program that includes Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 and Symphony
▲No. 9 in D-Minor, Op. 125 — Finale Ode to Joy.
▲Wednesday at 7:30pm
▲Main World Games Stadium, Kaohsiung (高雄世運主場館), located at the junction of Jhunghai and Junsiao roads (中海路與軍校路口)
▲Tickets are NT$290 to NT$3,000, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Brilliant Light of Choral Music — Mark Anthony Carpio and the Taipei Philharmonic Youth Choir (絢麗的聲音火花 — 菲律賓瑪德利加指揮Mark Anthony Carpio與台北愛樂青年合唱團) brings to Taipei the leader of the Philippine Madrigal Singers as a guest conductor in a concert featuring the Taipei Philharmonic Youth Choir (台北愛樂青年合唱團) supported by the National Hsinchu Senior High School Chorus (新竹高中合唱團), and a program that includes the works of Filipino composers Francisco Feliciano and Ryan Cayabyab, as well as pieces by Javier Busto, John Rutter, Saunder Choi and Christopher Borela.
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
2009 Ju Percussion Group Annual Cross Boarder Concert — Beatbox (2009朱宗慶打擊樂團年度跨界音樂會 — 擊樂人聲) parades Ju Percussion’s (朱宗慶打擊樂團) versatility in a concert featuring works that push the art of percussion music to new levels.
▲Monday and Tuesday at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
AMA Principle Artist Series 12 — Su Shien-ta Violin Recital (亞藝首席獨奏家系列十二 — 蘇顯達小提琴獨奏會) presents a program
of classical music on the theme of
“the tango,” featuring Tartini-Kreisler’s Devil’s Trill, Smetana’s Aus der Heimat, Prokofiev’s Sonata for Violin and
Piano No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 80 and Piazolla’s Histoire du Tango. Su will be accompanied by Weng Chung-hua (翁重華) on piano.
▲Tomorrow at 7:30
▲National Recital Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$250 to NT$500, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Contemporary
Tonight, Understory (地下歲月)
and hip-hop rockers Living Force (存活勢力) share the bill at The Wall (這牆). Tomorrow, Canadian extreme metal group Into Eternity takes the stage, while on Wednesday it’s post-rock/emo band Orangegrass(橙草) and Indie-rockers Silver Bus’ turn to shake the stage. On Thursday, GunPowder performs.
▲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.thewall.com.tw for more information
▲Shows start at 8pm tonight and Wednesday, 7pm tomorrow
▲Entrance fee for music shows is NT$400 tonight, NT$900 tomorrow (special offers are available if you buy the entry ticket and the band’s CDs together), NT$350 on Wednesday and NT$300 on Thursday, or NT$350 for entry and the band’s DVD
Performing tonight at Witch House (女巫店) is Shi Ying-ying (史茵茵), who performs in musicals and whose first solo album, Someone Is Praying for You, was released in March.
Taking to the stage tomorrow night are Haihai (海海) and Lanmu (藍姆), followed by Aboriginal musician Leo Chen (陳永龍), who grew up singing about the beauty of the mountains of his home, Nanwang Village in Taitung. On Thursday, indie-folk duo U.TA (屋塔樂團) opens proceedings, followed by neo-folk singer/guitarist Enno Cheng (鄭宜農).
▲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
▲Admission for music shows is NT$300
Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) tonight hosts percussion virtuoso Rich Huang (黃瑞豐) and friends. Tomorrow it’s singer and multi-instrument whiz Suming (姜聖明), and on Sunday relatively new Mando-pop singer on the block, Lan You-shi (藍又時). Other performers next week include, Happy Circle, whose EP Hello Tomorrow came out in March, and new band Lidehui (利得彙) on Wednesday.
▲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, 9pm tomorrow, Sunday and Wednesday
▲Admission is NT$500 tonight,
▲NT$400 tomorrow and Sunday, NT$350 on Wednesday
Veteran performer, producer and songwriter Sandee Chan (陳珊妮)
and Kimmy Chan (陳怡文)
share the stage tonight at Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館).
Pop singer Victor Wong (品冠) performs tomorrow, while Hsiao Hung-jen (蕭閎仁) and indie-rock outfit Pen Sauce (筆醬), which has
a new single out entitled Sorry!! I’m
the Queen, tackle center stage
on Thursday.
▲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
▲All shows start at 8:30pm
▲Entrance fee is NT$660 tonight, NT$500 tomorrow and NT$400
▲on Thursday
Tonight at VU Live House
there’s The Specials tribute show with High Tide, Skaraoke and the Taimaica Sound System. [See
story above.]
▲B1, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1). Call (02) 2314-1868 for more information
▲11pm tonight
▲NT$350 admission, includes
▲one drink
Kate Jazz Trio plays tonight at Sappho de Base. Tomorrow
there’s T&T Jazz & Friends,
while Rick Taira Quartet performs on Tuesday. Dawid Vorster and Martijn Vanbuei take the stage on Wednesday. Grace Jazz Trio’s gig on Thursday is followed by an open jam session.
▲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
Every Wednesday night at the Cosmopolitan Grill there’s a blues open mic, held by the Blues Society
in Taiwan. Performers from all walks of life are welcome.
▲1F, 218 Changchun Rd, Taipei City (台北市長春路218號1樓).
▲Call (02) 2508-0304 or visit
www.cosmo.com.tw for more information
▲8pm to 11pm every Wednesday
▲No admission fee
Indie rock group Homa and
indie-electronica outfit Alluvial (阿路米爾) share the bill tonight
and tomorrow at Underworld (地下社會). On Wednesday, Deepest (深層樂團) and Piful Monster perform
▲B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei City (台北市師大路45號B1). Call (02) 2369-0103 or visit www.upsaid.com/underworld for more information
▲All shows start at 9pm
▲Entrance is NT$300 tonight and tomorrow and includes one drink, Wednesday’s show is NT$100
Talk
The quest for cultural identity and the experience of culture shock are the main themes of
Taking Stock: Who Am I, Where Am I From, and Where Am I Going?, a panel discussion,
hosted by the Lung Ying-tai Cultural Foundation (龍應台文化基金會). The four panelists — a Harvard graduate, a surgeon and two educators — are all under 30 years old and were raised and educated overseas. They will talk about their experiences of returning to Taiwan to work and live and examine the reasons why they returned to Taiwan, how living abroad affected their cultural identity and the importance of intercultural communication. The talk is in English. Admission is free but attendees must preregister by calling (02) 3322-4907, or visiting
www.civictaipei.org
▲Yue-han Hall (月涵堂), 110 Jinhua St, Taipei City (台北市金華街110號)
▲May 23, from 2pm to 4:30pm
Exhibitions
A black-and-white photograph shows an armed officer moving through a trashed up Cleveland, Ohio, home following an eviction — the consequence of a mortgage foreclosure. The cop has to make sure that the house is clear of weapons, and that the residents have moved out. The shot, taken by American photographer Anthony Suau for Time magazine, took top honors at the 52nd World Press Photo Contest. An exhibition of the winning photographs in 10 different categories is currently on display at Dunhua Eslite Bookstore.
Eslite Gallery (誠品畫廊), B2, 243, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City
▲(台北市敦化南路一段243號B2). Open daily from 11am to 10pm. Call
▲(02) 2775-5977
▲Until May 30
Liu Shih-tang (劉時棟) revises the Chinese folk art tradition of paper cutting and merges it with a contemporary aesthetic in Start From Eyes (始於眼). The exhibit features 36 of Liu’s mixed-media collage paintings.
Main Trend Gallery (大趨勢畫廊), 209-1, Chengde Rd Sec 3, Taipei City
▲(台北市承德路三段209-1號). Open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11am to 7pm.
▲Tel: (02) 2587-3412. On the Net:
www.maintrendgallery.com.tw
▲Until June 6
Taiwan’s plants, animals and folk customs serve as Hsiao Mei’s (蕭媺) visual language in her solo exhibit Here Is Where We Meet (飄遊·境遇). The show features more than 30 of her dreamlike oil paintings that were created between 2003 to 2009.
▲Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM), 181, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市中山北路三段181號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30am to 5:30pm; Saturdays open until 8:30pm. Tel: (02) 2595-7656. On the Net:
www.tfam.museum
▲Until June 26
Landscape, Taiwan (風景．台灣) is a solo exhibition comprised of 21 landscape and seascape oil paintings by Taiwanese artist Yeh Tzu-chi (葉子奇). The works are a visual diary of the artist’s past, where place and memory merge in romantic depictions of the country’s natural scenery.
▲Eslite Xinyi Bookstore (誠品信義店), 5F, 11 Songgao Rd, Taipei City (台北市松高路11號5樓). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm.
▲Telephone: (02) 8789-3388 X1588
▲Until June 7
Legend of Future (未來的傳說) is a group exhibition featuring 11 of Asia’s top artists working in the mediums of sculpture and painting. The show includes South Korea’s Kown Ki Soo, Japan’s Yoshitomo Nara and Yoshitaka Amano, and Taiwan’s Yang Mao-lin (楊茂林) and Hung Yi (洪易). The works on display are inspired by the aesthetics of anime and manga.
▲Metaphysical Art Gallery (形而上畫廊), 7F, 219, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段219號7樓). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 6:30pm. Tel: (02) 2771-3236
▲Until May 31
Chang Dai-chien: Memorial Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition (張大千110—書畫紀念特展) displays 96 works by one of the 20th century’s most revered painters working in Chinese art. From his early output, which was firmly rooted in tradition, to his later paintings, which were influenced by modernism, this exhibit provides insight into the painter’s evolution as an artist and the different schools of thought that influenced him.
▲National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), 49 Nanhai Rd, Taipei City (台北市南海路49號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm.
▲Tel: (02) 2361-0270.
▲On the Net: www.nmh.gov.tw
▲Until June 14
Nov. 11 to Nov. 17 People may call Taipei a “living hell for pedestrians,” but back in the 1960s and 1970s, citizens were even discouraged from crossing major roads on foot. And there weren’t crosswalks or pedestrian signals at busy intersections. A 1978 editorial in the China Times (中國時報) reflected the government’s car-centric attitude: “Pedestrians too often risk their lives to compete with vehicles over road use instead of using an overpass. If they get hit by a car, who can they blame?” Taipei’s car traffic was growing exponentially during the 1960s, and along with it the frequency of accidents. The policy
Hourglass-shaped sex toys casually glide along a conveyor belt through an airy new store in Tokyo, the latest attempt by Japanese manufacturer Tenga to sell adult products without the shame that is often attached. At first glance it’s not even obvious that the sleek, colorful products on display are Japan’s favorite sex toys for men, but the store has drawn a stream of couples and tourists since opening this year. “Its openness surprised me,” said customer Masafumi Kawasaki, 45, “and made me a bit embarrassed that I’d had a ‘naughty’ image” of the company. I might have thought this was some kind
What first caught my eye when I entered the 921 Earthquake Museum was a yellow band running at an angle across the floor toward a pile of exposed soil. This marks the line where, in the early morning hours of Sept. 21, 1999, a massive magnitude 7.3 earthquake raised the earth over two meters along one side of the Chelungpu Fault (車籠埔斷層). The museum’s first gallery, named after this fault, takes visitors on a journey along its length, from the spot right in front of them, where the uplift is visible in the exposed soil, all the way to the farthest
The room glows vibrant pink, the floor flooded with hundreds of tiny pink marbles. As I approach the two chairs and a plush baroque sofa of matching fuchsia, what at first appears to be a scene of domestic bliss reveals itself to be anything but as gnarled metal nails and sharp spikes protrude from the cushions. An eerie cutout of a woman recoils into the armrest. This mixed-media installation captures generations of female anguish in Yun Suknam’s native South Korea, reflecting her observations and lived experience of the subjugated and serviceable housewife. The marbles are the mother’s sweat and tears,
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