Theater
Internationally renowned British choreographer Wayne McGregor presents Entity, created by his company Random Dance. McGregor explores the relationship between brain and body in the abstract dance performance.
▲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
Firefly Theater (螢火蟲劇團) celebrates the 30th anniversary of Lanling Theatre Workshop (蘭陵劇坊), Taiwan’s pioneering experimental theater troupe, with Count to Three (數到三), which takes a sobering look at children who have been subjected to domestic violence. The play is not suitable for children under six. Kids aged between seven and 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
▲Red House Theater (紅樓劇場), 10 Chengdu Rd, Taipei City (台北市成都路10號)
▲Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$400, available through NTCH ticketing or online at
www.artsticket.com.tw
Happiness Part III — Forget Me Not (浮浪貢開花3 — 勿忘影中人), the latest installment of Golden Bough Theatre’s (金枝演社) Happiness (浮浪貢開花) series, which began life four years ago, is a light-hearted, comic musical that tells the story of a young bohemian and his search for happiness.
▲Chunghsing Concert Hall, Taichung (台中中興堂), 291-3 Chingwu Rd, Taichung City (台中市精武路291之3號)
▲Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$300 and NT$1,100, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Kaohsiung City Ballet’s (高雄城市芭蕾舞團) The Peony Pavilion (牡丹亭), inspired by Tang Xia-zu’s (湯顯祖) tale of the same name, returns with a national tour that starts tomorrow night at the Metropolitan Hall in Taipei. The piece premiered in 2007.
▲Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台), 25, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段25號).
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
A bank robbery takes place in Taiwan Drama Performance’s (台灣戲劇表演家) Shifu (師父). Among the hostages: an award-winning school teacher, a Henan opera star, a martial-arts master, a bakery owner and a pregnant woman. The question: Who has the right to decide who should survive?
▲Kaohsiung Chihteh Hall (高雄至德堂), 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市五福一路67號) for this weekend’s shows; National Taiwan Arts Education Center (國立台灣藝術教育館本部及演藝廳), 47 Nanhai Rd, Taipei City (台北市南海路47號) on Wednesday and Thursday.
▲Tonight at 7:30pm and tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm in Kaohsiung, Wednesday at 7:30pm and Thursday at 2:30pm and 7:30pm in Taipei
▲Tickets are NT$250 to NT$1,200, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Classical music
2009 Jazz All Stars — Duke Ellington Orchestra (艾靈頓公爵大樂團) brings one of the all-time great big bands to perform two concerts in Taiwan, in Taipei and Kaohsiung under band leader Paul Ellington. The program includes jazz classics such as Mood Indigo, It Don’t Mean a Thing and Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.
▲Tuesday (Taipei) and Wednesday (Kaohsiung), at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City and Kaohsiung Cultural Center’s Chihteh Hall (高雄市立文化中心至德堂), 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung City, (高雄市五福一路67號)
▲Tickets are NT$800 to NT$3,600 for Taipei and NT$800 to NT$3,000 for Kaohsiung and are available through ERA ticketing or online at
www.ticket.com.tw
Agrement Sans Distance (逸樂零距離), part of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra’s (臺北市立交響樂團) 40th anniversary concert series, features pianist Georges Pludermacher and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra Chorus（臺北市立交響樂團附設合唱團） performing under Martin Fischer-Dieskau. The program includes Rameau’s Overture to “Zais”, Scene Funebre from “Castor et Pollux”, and Contredanse en Rondeau From “Les Boreades”, along with Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major.
▲Today at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$200 to NT$800 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Masters and NSO — From Beethoven to Bruckner (名家與NSO的對話系列 — 雙Ｂ魅力) presents pianist Francois-Frederic Guy performing with the National Symphony Orchestra (國家交響樂團) under guest conductor Johannes Wildner. The program includes Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4
in G Major, Op. 58 and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 in D Minor,
“Wagner Symphonie”.
▲Sunday at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,500 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Distant Worlds — Music from Final Fantasy (Final Fantasy太空戰士交響音樂會) is a presentation of the music by Japanese video game composer Nobuo Uematsu, who wrote the score for numerous titles of the best-selling Final Fantasy game series. The concert, which includes video imagery from the game, features the Taipei Symphony Orchestra (臺北市立交響樂團) and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra Chorus（臺北市立交響樂團附設合唱團） performing under the baton of conductor Arnie Roth.
▲Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm
▲Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館), 505, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路四段505號)
▲Tickets are NT$800 to NT$3,200 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Contemporary
Tonight The Wall (這牆) hosts Brazilian metal band Hibria, who are on tour to promote The Skull Collectors, their album about an air force pilot gone astray. Tomorrow, black metal outfit Chthonic (閃靈) debuts new songs from its upcoming album. On Sunday, it’s ska band Skaraoke and funk-rock group Si Zong Bu(肆總部), which is releasing its debut EP at the show.
▲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
▲Show starts at 7pm tonight and 8pm tomorrow and Sunday
▲Entrance fee for music shows is NT$900 tonight, NT$500 tomorrow and NT$300 on Sunday. Admission includes one drink
Tonight at Witch House (女巫店), it’s a quiet, intimate evening of acoustic music with Ding Ding and Xi Xi (丁丁與西西). Tomorrow the venue hosts John Suming (約翰淑敏), a singer and multi-instrumentalist from the popular college rock band Totem (圖騰). On Thursday, indie rockers Queen Suitcase (皇后皮箱) take to the stage.
▲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 fee for music shows is NT$300
Acid, Latin jazz and funk are the sounds tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) tonight provided by TFP Trio. Up-and-coming folk rocker Connie Sin (呂莘) appears tomorrow night, while Sunday features indie pop group Space Cake (太空蛋糕) and high-energy rockers 88 Balaz (八 十 八顆芭樂籽).
▲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
▲Show starts at 9:30pm tonight, 9pm tomorrow and Sunday
Tonight Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館) hosts female pop jazz singer Fu Way (傅薇), who mainly croons in Hokkien. Tomorrow night is Nike Sportswear night — the company is aiming for the kids by throwing a party that features a host of Taiwanese indie artists, including electro-pop girl band Go Chic, ska group Skaraoke, Aboriginal singer Matzka and pop-punk band Punkhoo (胖虎).
▲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
▲Tonight at 8:30pm, tomorrow from 5pm to 10pm.
▲Entrance fee is NT$450 tonight; tickets for tomorrow’s show are free, but are limited. Contact the venue for details.
Jazz Your Mind plays cool jazz and acid jazz tonight at Sappho de Base. Tomorrow Chicago-style electric blues band BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) takes to the stage. The Emo Jazz Trio appears on Tuesday, while the Chris Stiles Jazz Trio performs on Wednesday. On Thursday, it’s Free Breathing Ensemble (世界軌跡), which features the sounds of tabla, bass, accordion and violin.
▲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 is an open mic session hosted by Jake Stanley of the acoustic duo Stoked Pokey. All are welcome to participate.
▲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.
▲From 8:30pm to 11pm every Wednesday
▲No admission fee
EZ5 Live House hosts Mando-pop singers backed by a live band every night. Highlights this week include male crooners Huang Chung-yuan (黃中原) tonight and Hsing Lung (辛隆) tomorrow, and Julia Peng (彭佳慧), a major draw who appears
every Tuesday.
▲211, Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市安和路二段211號). Call (02) 2738-3995 or visit www.ez5.com.tw for more information
▲Music shows run from 9:45pm to 12:30am
▲Entrance (including two drinks) ranges from NT$600 to NT$850, depending on the performer. Call venue for exact fees
Tainan-based rockabilly band Fullhouse and surf punk group Hotpunk play tonight at Underworld (地下社會). Taking to the stage tomorrow are post-rock group Aphasia and folk rock group Windmill (風籟坊). On Wednesday, there’s post-rock electronica from Lily et Coco, who shares the bill with Eaten by the Cab.
▲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
▲Shows are from 9:30pm to 11:30pm and 9pm to 11pm on Wednesdays
▲Entrance is NT$300 tonight and tomorrow and includes one drink; NT$100 on Wednesday
Entrance fees: NT$400 tonight and tomorrow and NT$350 on Sunday
Franz and Friends (城市舞台藝文沙龍), an upscale restaurant and performance space in Taipei’s East District, hosts music shows every night. The tunes tend to be on the safe side, ranging from wistful love songs and opera to lounge jazz. Weekly highlights include Denise Juan (阮丹青), a former pop singer turned piano teacher, television presenter and traveler, and her band Sunshine Costa, who play tonight. Tomorrow, it’s Buona Sera, a group featuring soprano Chang Hsiao-ni (張曉倪).
▲25, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段25號B1). Call (02) 2579-0558 for reservations, or visit www.franzandfriends.com.tw for more information.
▲Minimum charge of NT$300 on Fridays and Saturdays; all other nights the minimum charge is one drink
▲Tonight at Tone 56 Live Bar is New Orleans funk and rock ensemble The Kenyatta Trio. Tomorrow is electro-disco, hip-hop and funk with DJ Shorty and the band Space Funk. On Sunday it’s acoustic duo Diamond Jacks.
▲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. Call (02) 2517-3869
▲The music starts at 9:30pm tonight and tomorrow. Sunday’s music performance runs from 7pm to 10pm.
▲No admission fee
Exhibitions
Tu Pei-shih (杜珮詩) investigates the vagaries of human nature in her solo exhibition Happy Bubble Life (快樂泡沫生活). Tu uses collage as her primary medium.
▲Project Fulfill Art Space (就在藝術空間), 2, Alley 45, Ln 147, Xinyi Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市信義路三段147巷45弄2號). To arrange a viewing call (02) 2325-0023
▲Until June 21
Group exhibition Matter and Medium (物質。中界) features sculpture and installation work by six contemporary Taiwanese artists.
▲My Humble House Art Gallery, B1, 12, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路一段12號B1). Call (02) 3322-3833. On the Net:
www.myhumblehouse.com
▲Until June 15
Only Light (光的視覺考古) is a solo exhibition by Shyu Chune-i (徐純一) that brings together several of his multi-media works created over the past two decades.
▲Angel Art Gallery (天使美術館), 1F, 41 Xinyi Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市信義路三段41號1F). Open daily from 10am to 7pm; closed Sundays. Call (02) 2701-5229
▲Until June 7
Taiwanese artist Tsai Zung-lung’s (蔡宗隆) solo exhibit Looking for the Temperature of Tranquility (尋找寧靜的溫度) comprises abstract work in clay.
▲Yingge Ceramics Museum (鶯歌陶瓷博物館), 200 Wenhua Rd, Yinge Township, Taipei County (北縣鶯歌鎮文化路200號). Open Tuesday to Friday from 9:30am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9:30am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 8677-2727. On the Net:
▲www.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw
▲Until June 14
A black-and-white photograph shows an armed officer moving through a trashed 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-tung (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 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
When nature calls, Masana Izawa has followed the same routine for more than 50 years: heading out to the woods in Japan, dropping his pants and doing as bears do. “We survive by eating other living things. But you can give faeces back to nature so that organisms in the soil can decompose them,” the 74-year-old said. “This means you are giving life back. What could be a more sublime act?” “Fundo-shi” (“poop-soil master”) Izawa is something of a celebrity in Japan, publishing books, delivering lectures and appearing in a documentary. People flock to his “Poopland” and centuries-old wooden “Fundo-an” (“poop-soil house”) in
Jan 13 to Jan 19 Yang Jen-huang (楊仁煌) recalls being slapped by his father when he asked about their Sakizaya heritage, telling him to never mention it otherwise they’ll be killed. “Only then did I start learning about the Karewan Incident,” he tells Mayaw Kilang in “The social culture and ethnic identification of the Sakizaya” (撒奇萊雅族的社會文化與民族認定). “Many of our elders are reluctant to call themselves Sakizaya, and are accustomed to living in Amis (Pangcah) society. Therefore, it’s up to the younger generation to push for official recognition, because there’s still a taboo with the older people.” Although the Sakizaya became Taiwan’s 13th
Earlier this month, a Hong Kong ship, Shunxin-39, was identified as the ship that had cut telecom cables on the seabed north of Keelung. The ship, owned out of Hong Kong and variously described as registered in Cameroon (as Shunxin-39) and Tanzania (as Xinshun-39), was originally People’s Republic of China (PRC)-flagged, but changed registries in 2024, according to Maritime Executive magazine. The Financial Times published tracking data for the ship showing it crossing a number of undersea cables off northern Taiwan over the course of several days. The intent was clear. Shunxin-39, which according to the Taiwan Coast Guard was crewed
For anyone on board the train looking out the window, it must have been a strange sight. The same foreigner stood outside waving at them four different times within ten minutes, three times on the left and once on the right, his face getting redder and sweatier each time. At this unique location, it’s actually possible to beat the train up the mountain on foot, though only with extreme effort. For the average hiker, the Dulishan Trail is still a great place to get some exercise and see the train — at least once — as it makes its way
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