We ART Together – Taiwan Week

The National Theatre & Concert Hall (NTCH) is proud to present Taiwan Week, a new annual event that showcases the dynamism and innovative drive of Taiwan’s contemporary performing arts scene. Featuring more than a dozen performances spanning the fields of dance, drama and music, Taiwan Week aims to connect Taiwanese culture with the world. We envision this event as not only a stage for exciting work by groundbreaking Taiwanese artists, but also as an international network connecting like-minded artists, producers and organisations.

Bringing people together through the arts is an essential part of the mission of the National Theatre & Concert Hall, Taiwan’s longest-running and most respected performance arts venue. Since its founding in 1987, the NTCH has been devoted to hosting world-class performers, and we have expanded our reach with programmes that support rising stars who are ready for the international stage. To this end, the NTCH seeks to provide a platform for these performers to engage in dialogue, exchange, and collaboration with other artists from the Asia region and beyond.

Coinciding with the NTCH’s annual Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA), the most anticipated stage to see international productions and premieres of local works, Taiwan Week will take place during the last two weeks of TIFA. Furthermore, Taiwan Week will join hands with venues in the greater Taipei area, including Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center, Shulin Arts Centre, Cloud Gate Theatre and Wellspring Theatre. The performances are held from 9 to 13 Apr and 16 to 20 Apr, each with different programming. We welcome all to join us as “we ART together in Taiwan.”

Taiwan Week 2020 programme overview (up to date):

Lais Creative Dance Theatre 
Home Temperature 
11 – 12 Apr 

Choreographer Lai Tsui-shuang depicts a seemingly happy family haunted by domestic violence in a performance piece in which the victim’s unspoken fears come to re-define the very idea of “family.”                                                        

Wang Pei-yao 
Luminous Shadow
10 – 11 Apr

In Luminous Shadow, pianist Wang Pei-yao seeks new ways to bridge literature and music. Inspired by the Wu Ming-yi novel The Stolen Bicycle, Wang’s compositions are designed to reflect the complexities and depth of human memory.                                               

Sean Chou x Chen Yu-dien x Wang Wei 
Transhumanism: Tenets
10 – 12 Apr

Transhumanism: Tenets searches for new definitions of what it means to be human, focusing on the supernatural and seeking to defy conventional expectations of theatre and magic.

Ong Keng Sen x Wei Hai-min
A Thousand Stages, Yet I Have Never Quite Lived
10 – 12 Apr

The outstanding Beijing opera diva Wei Hai-min stars in this autobiographical performance, teaming up with Singaporean director Ong Keng Sen. Ong draws from legendary events in Wei’s life to show how the art of Beijing Opera has developed against the backdrop of social change in Taiwan, and how it reflects changes in the common human experience of modern times.

A Thousand Stages, Yet I Have Never Quite Lived (Photo credit: Chen Chieh-jen)

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan 
Cheng Tsung-lung’s 22° Lunar Halo
10 – 12 Apr, 17 – 19 Apr

This choreographed work by Cheng Tsung-lung, Cloud Gate’s newly-appointed artistic director, foreshadows the collapse of civilisations at the end of the century. Set to the music specially arranged by Sigur Rós and incorporating stunning projection on gigantic LED panels, the production was hailed as “fierce beauty.”

Cheng Tsung-lung’s 22° Lunar Halo (Photo credit: Liu Chen-hsiang)

Shakespeare’s Wild Sisters Group 
Mythology upon the Table
17 – 19 Apr

Seven Asian artists deconstruct Homer’s epic The Odyssey and recast new identities using everyday objects on a dining table. In the process, they re-examine their respective cultures from the perspective of the other.

Mythology Upon the Table (Photo credit: Etang Chen)

Bulareyaung Dance Company 
Not Afraid of the Sun and Rain
17 – 19 Apr

Several years ago, one of Taiwan’s most acclaimed choreographers, Bulareyaung Pagarlava, returned to his home village on the island’s east coast to train aspiring indigenous youth dancers. Drawing from the experience, Bulareyaung conceived of this performance to reflect the ultimate journey for any person – the journey of one’s own life.

Not Afraid of the Sun and Rain (Photo credit: Xin Zong Gao)

M.O.V.E. Theatre 
Resonance: Into the maze
17 – 19 Apr

For this walk-about performance, M.O.V.E. Theatre, a Taishin Arts Award-winning troupe, converts the theatre into an enormous resonance chamber, integrating original music, interactive exploration and audio installation.

Shan Puppet Theatre x Hong Puppet Theatre x Wang Chia-ming 
Inside Out: A Tale of Allure and Enchantment
17 – 19 Apr

Traditional Taiwanese puppetry meets avant-garde theatre in this collaborative endeavor. Teaming up with several renowned troupes, director Wang Chia-ming (Shakespeare’s Wild Sisters Group) utilises modern stage techniques to tell a ghost story connected with a puppet show.

Myan Myan Studio 
play games   
17 – 19 Apr

In this Taipei Literature Award-winning play, a family’s scandalous secrets are laid bare, and a make-believe role-playing exercise performed by the characters becomes a cruel game.                                            

Showcase / Event
Bare Feet Dance Theatre  An Eternity Before and After / Tsia̍h-thóo
Huang Yi Studio +  Little Ant & Robot (working title), Objects, Glance (working title)
CHEN Wu-kang x Pichet Klunchun  Rama’s House
Treasure Hill Light Festival 2020

You may view TIFA 2020’s complete programme here. 

For more information about Taiwan Week, please contact us through taiwanweek@mail.npac-ntch.org