Theater
Human Condition 4 — The Same Moonlight (人間條件四 — 一樣的月光) is the latest installment of Green Ray Theater’s (綠光劇團) series titled Human Condition. Written and directed by Wu Nien-jen (吳念真), the play centers on the lives of two sisters, one of whom works as a cleaner; the other is employed at an international company. Performances will be given in Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung starting next month.
▲National Theater, Taipei City
▲Today and tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$500 to NT$3,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Based on Austrian playwright and novelist Elfriede Jelinek’s play of the same title, What Happened after Nora Left Her Husband is the latest production put together by the department of theater arts at Chinese Culture University (中國文化大學). The production puts a gender twist on the original work by having a male actor play Nora, who is abused by her husband.
▲Experimental Theater, Taipei City.
▲Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$400, available through NTCH ticketing or online at
www.artsticket.com.tw
Made up of six afternoons of performances, Blue Dragon White Tiger (青龍白虎三世纏鬥) by the National Guoguang Opera Company (國立國光劇團) recounts the ancient legend of two sacred beasts, Blue Dragon and White Tiger, who battle each other over the course of their three lives. The first two parts take place this weekend at Guoguan Theater. The remaining four follow next and July.
▲Guoguang Theater (國光劇場), 8-1, Ln 66, Mucha Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市木柵路三段66巷8號之1)
▲Tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$200 and NT$300, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.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.
▲Taipei County Arts Center (台北縣藝文中心演藝廳), 62 Jhuangjing Rd, Banciao City, Taipei County (台北縣板橋市莊敬路62號)
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$300 and NT$500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Based on Tennessee Williams’ play of the same title, The Glass Menagerie by Godot Theater Company (果陀劇場) stars veteran actress Tan Ai-chen (譚艾珍), seasoned stage actress Yan Chia-le (顏嘉樂) and television actor Shih I-nan (施易男).
▲Chiayi Performing Arts Center (嘉義縣表演藝術中心演藝廳), 265, Jianguo Rd Sec 2, Minhsiung Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣民雄鄉建國路二段265號)
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Classical music
Chun Chang Violin Recital (張群小提琴獨奏會) presents Taiwanese-born, German-trained violinist
Chang Chun (張群) in a concert of music ranging from Bach’s Violin Partita II BWV1004 Ciaccona , Schbert’s Violin Sonata in D Major D384, Op. 137, Brahms Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 108 to Tyzen Hsiao’s (蕭泰然) The Song of Taiwan (台灣頌) and Wieniawski’s Variations on an Original Theme OP. 15.
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲National Recital Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$400 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
2009 Summer Concert — Dances with Sabers (2009夏季音樂會 — 夏之踊~劍舞) is a performance by the Taiwan Soloists Chamber Orchestra (台灣獨奏家室內樂團), featuring Natalia Amosova on piano, Hsiao Pang-shing (蕭邦享) on violin and Alexander Dardykin on cello. The program includes Hoffmeister’s Duet in C Major for Violin and Cello, Gliere’s Four Duets, Neruda’s Berceuse Slave, Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 3 in C Minor Op. 1 No. 3, among other works.
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm (Kaohsiung); Monday at 7:30pm (Taipei)
▲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) and National Recital Hall
▲Tickets are NT$200 for Kaohsiung and NT$300 for Taipei, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Thierry Miroglio and Ancuza Aprodu (法國擊樂鋼琴二重奏) brings French composer and percussionist Thierry Miroglio and pianist Ancuza Aprodu to Taiwan to perform together with Taiwan’s Music Forum percussion orchestra. The program will include Maurice Ohana’s Etude d’Interpretation XII , Hugues Dufort’s An Schwager Kronos and Chao Ching-wen’s (趙菁文) SoundStates (純化), among other works.
▲Wednesday at 7:30pm
▲Forum Auditorium (十方樂集音樂劇場演奏廳), 4, Ln 187, Minzu W Rd, Taipei City (台北市民族西路187巷4號)
▲Tickets are NT$300 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Contemporary
Miss Stocking, which plays dreamy indie rock, appears tonight at The Wall (這牆). Get your groove on late night with electro-punk band Go Chic and DJs Wayne 909 and Spykee Fat, all of whom are supporting the main act, Shitdisco, a band and DJ outfit from Glasgow. Tomorrow is a post-rock feast featuring Japan’s Mono and Taiwan’s Sugar Plum Ferry (甜梅號). Sunday is an eclectic mix of Taiwanese hip-hop group Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤), indie-electronica band The Shine and Shine and Shine and Shine (閃閃閃閃) and psychedelic alt-rock band Flat Club (假文藝青年俱樂部).
▲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 8pm tonight for Miss Stocking and 11:30pm for Shitdisco; 8pm tomorrow and Sunday
▲Entrance fee for music shows is NT$400 for Miss Stocking and NT$800 for the Shitdisco show, NT$1,400 tomorrow (NT$1,200 in advance) and NT$300 on Sunday; includes one drink. All advance tickets available at White Wabbit Records, located at the Wall.
Yujun (榆鈞) reads poetry to the music of Japanese sitar player Yo tonight at Witch House (女巫店). Tomorrow folk-pop singer Europa Huang (黃建為) takes to the stage.
On Thursday, it’s solo act Ian (芮唯) and one-man electro-rock band
Sonic Deadhorse.
▲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
Tonight is the Electric Bass Show III at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言), featuring two jazz bass virtuosos, Ning Zi-da (甯子達) and Huang Chun-han (黃群翰). Performing tomorrow is folk group Miss Dessy and a newly-formed rock band, The Little. On Sunday, the venue hosts What Century (花世紀), an outfit of 20-year-old rockers, who open for slick emo-punks Pa Pang (怕胖團).
▲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
▲Entrance fees: NT$400 tonight and tomorrow and NT$350 Sunday
Tonight, Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館) hosts Hsiao Nan and Friends (小南 and Friends), a new folk rock group. They open for Mandopop singer-songwriter Debbie Hsiao (蕭賀碩), who won the Best Newcomer prize at the 2008 Golden Melody Awards. Tomorrow night the venue hosts a milonga, which features three local tango groups: iTango Orchestra (愛探戈), Tango Negro (黑探戈) and Fusion Blanca (白融合). [See story on Page 13.]
▲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$400 tonight, includes one drink. Tomorrow’s event is NT$500, includes one drink and one free tango lesson. For more information, visit milonga.pixnet.net/blog
Taking to the stage tonight at Sappho de Base is the Jo Jo Ma Quintet, a group led by saxophonist Joseph Marchione, a founding member of the Austin, Texas, large jazz ensemble the Creative Opportunity Orchestra. Tomorrow, it’s New Orleans native Nbugu Kenyatta and friends. On Tuesday, the venue hosts Cry of the Wild Goose, a duo consisting of Blues Vibrations guitarist Lanny Waugh and drummer Ed Schaefer. On Wednesday, it’s Minstrels Unlimited, a group exploring jazz, African and hip-hop music, while The Grace Jazz Trio appears on Thursday.
▲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 open mic hosted by Jake Stanley of the acoustic duo Stoked Pokey. All are welcome to participate, and participants receive 20 percent off drinks.
▲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.
▲8:30pm to 11pm every Wednesday
▲No admission fee
EZ5 Live House hosts Mando-pop singers backed by a live band every night. Highlights include male crooner 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
Metal bands Vulcan and Demise (薨) play tonight at Underworld (地下社會). Taking to the stage tomorrow are Shishukong (屍術控) and Fuxing Xiaozi (福星小子). On Wednesday, punk bands Vanilla and Random push revelers over the mid-week hump.
▲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
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 music tends to play it safe, 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. They 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. On the Net: www.franzandfriends.com.tw
▲Minimum charge of NT$300 on Fridays and Saturdays, all other nights minimum charge is one drink
Exhibitions
A Thousand, Thousand Churning Waves — The Legendary Red Cliff Heritage (捲起千堆雪—赤壁文物特展) is an exhibit that revisits the Battle of Red Cliffs (赤壁之戰), a famous skirmish fought at the end of the Han Dynasty. The National Palace Museum recounts this legendary battle with historical documents, books, works of art and prints depicting the period and its people.
▲National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院), 221, Zhishan Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市至善路二段221號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm; Saturdays open until 8:30pm. Tel: (02) 2881-2021. On the Net: www.npm.gov.tw
▲Until August 31
In the summer of 2008, video artist Seth Lower received a bizarre message from a person in Taiwan named Lee Ming, who said that Lower had been in one of his or her dreams. Seth Lower Looking for Lee Ming (尋找李明) is a video that documents Lower’s search for this mysterious person and how he comes into contact with numerous people in Taiwan bearing the name Lee Ming.
▲Taipei National University of the Arts — Guandu Museum of Arts (台北藝術大學關渡美術館), 1 Xueyuan Rd, Beitou Dist, Taipei City (台北市北投區學園路1號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Tel: (02) 2896-1000 X2432. On the Net: kdmofa.tnua.edu.tw
▲Until Sunday
Pan Ping-yu (潘聘婷)weaves together a variety of media such as fabric, wire, colored beads and spangles into dreamlike sculptures as a means of probing the mythologies of modern life in Eternal Nature (永恆是情景的回復).
▲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 28
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, Yingge 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
▲Ends tomorrow
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 and 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. Tel: (02) 8789-3388 X1588
▲Until June 7
Film
Ahead of the Asian premiere of Ultima Vez’s new work New Black at the National Theater from June 26 to June 28, the Taipei Arts International Association is showing “From the stage to the film,” a retrospective film festival of 13 short films made by the Belgiam contemporary dance company and its founder/director Vim Vandekeybus over the past 23 years. Many of the films were used as part of the company’s dance productions. The 13 films have been divided into four sets. A listing of the sets and films can be found on the Web at www.taf.org.tw/epaper/epapernewblack-movie.html. Senior theater lecturer Geng Yi-wei (耿一偉) will also give a lecture on Vandekeybus and his work at 3pm on Sunday.
▲The B2 auditorium of the Dunhua branch of Eslite Bookstore, B2, 245 Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段245號B2)
▲Sunday at 11am, 1:30pm, 5pm and 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$100 per set or NT$300 as a package for all four sets, available at www.artsticket.com.tw. Admission to the lecture is free.
▲More information is available by calling Miss Chang at (02)2772-8528, ex.11 or www.taf.org.tw
Dance
For Crystal Tun-Hwang (水晶瓶中的敦煌), the latest production by Jade and Artists Dance Troupe (肢體音符舞團) 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.
▲Taipei County Arts Center (台北縣藝文中心演藝廳), 62 Jhuangjing Rd, Banciao City, Taipei County (台北縣板橋市莊敬路62號)
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$300 and NT$500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
The dance department at Taipei National University of the Arts is holding its “Early Summer Production” this weekend, offering a mix program of modern, Chinese and Aboriginal dance, including White Adhesives by Cloud Gate 2 resident choreographer Cheng Tsung-lung (鄭宗龍), Harvest Festival of Kiwit Village, Ami Tribe by TNUA professor and Dance Forum Taipei founder Ping Heng (平珩) and Martha Graham’s Steps in the Street, directed by former Graham principal dancer Sheu Fang-yi (許芳宜).
TNUA Dance Theatre
▲Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm, tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$350, available at the door. For more information, call the dance department at 02-2893-8778
A “meta” detective series in which a struggling Asian waiter becomes the unlikely hero of a police procedural-style criminal conspiracy, Interior Chinatown satirizes Hollywood’s stereotypical treatment of minorities — while also nodding to the progress the industry has belatedly made. The new show, out on Disney-owned Hulu next Tuesday, is based on the critically adored novel by US author Charles Yu (游朝凱), who is of Taiwanese descent. Yu’s 2020 bestseller delivered a humorous takedown of racism in US society through the adventures of Willis Wu, a Hollywood extra reduced to playing roles like “Background Oriental Male” but who dreams of one day
Gabriel Gatehouse only got back from Florida a few minutes ago. His wheeled suitcase is still in the hallway of his London home. He was out there covering the US election for Channel 4 News and has had very little sleep, he says, but you’d never guess it from his twinkle-eyed sprightliness. His original plan was to try to get into Donald Trump’s election party at Mar-a-Lago, he tells me as he makes us each an espresso, but his contact told him to forget it; it was full, “and you don’t blag your way in when the guy’s survived two
The self-destructive protest vote in January that put the pro-People’s Republic of China (PRC) side in control of the legislature continues to be a gift that just keeps on giving to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Last week legislation was introduced by KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-lin (翁曉玲) that would amend Article 9-3 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to permit retired and serving (!) military personnel to participate in “united front” (統戰) activities. Since the purpose of those activities is to promote annexation of Taiwan to the PRC, legislators
Nov. 18 to Nov. 24 Led by a headman named Dika, 16 indigenous Siraya from Sinkan Village, in what is today’s Tainan, traveled to Japan and met with the shogun in the summer of 1627. They reportedly offered sovereignty to the emperor. This greatly alarmed the Dutch, who were allies of the village. They had set up headquarters on land purchased from the Sinkan two years earlier and protected the community from aggressive actions by their more powerful rivals from Mattau Village. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) had been embroiled in a bitter trade dispute with Japan, and they believed
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