“Second Half” Series in NTCH Features Celebrated Taiwanese Artists

After a brief hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Theater & Concert Hall (NTCH) in Taipei has reopened its doors to the public in June and had seen a surge in the number of audiences during the summer. While international programs are largely cancelled due to border controls making a themed festival difficult, NTCH reimagined remaining programs as the Second Half series and will continue to present productions of the most celebrated local artists, and two international co-productions in the last quarter of the year.

Highlights of the season: Adapted from Shakespeare’ classic tragedy, the Contemporary Legend Theatre’s King Lear (25 – 27 September 2020) has been highly acclaimed globally since its premiere in 2000. Artistic director Wu Hsing-kuo single handedly plays ten characters, showcasing his techniques of Peking Opera that reach the peak of perfection. Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s artistic director Cheng Tsung-lung introduces a new production Sounding Light (1 – 4 October 2020). As motions of sunlight sweep across the minimalistic stage, dancers recreate bodily imageries hinting at extraterrestrial beings, and mimic natural soundscape. Receiving a rave review in Paris Autumn Festival with Dear Life, theater director Wang Chia-ming’s returns with Big Band Species (23 – 25 October 2020), reflecting on Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and speculates on the fate of the human species.

Sounding Light (Photo by Lee Chia-yeh)

Big Band Species

The beloved Tang Mei-yun Taiwanese Opera Company will present The Storyteller and Her Dream (5 – 8 November 2020), an adaptation of the Japanese literary masterpiece The Tale of Genji featuring Tang Mei-yun and Huang Yu-lin as leading performers. Moreover, to commemorate its 25^th anniversary, the internationally renowned Legend Lin Dance Theater returns with the ten-year classic Hymne aux Fleurs qui Passent, a celebration for the circle of life.

Hymne aux Fleurs qui Passent (Photo by Chin Cheng-tsai)

Two international co-productions will take the stage in NTCH against all odds. Coproduced by NTCH and le phénix scène nationale Valenciennes, Love and Money is a collaboration between French director Damien Chardonnet and top Taiwanese performers. Based on Dennis Kelly’s script, this production challenges the audience with one question: “What would you like to put on the scale to trade for innocence, love and life?”

Premiered in Asia TOPA in March, Virtual Intimacy, a co-production by Very Theatre’s director Chou Tung-yen and Australian ActNow Theatre’s director Edwin Kemp Attrill, collaborates with local queer communities and artists and explores how our individual relationships with technology are changing our relationships with one another.

Virtual Intimacy (Photo by Wei Ling-chuan)

The inaugural Taiwan Week, a new annual event that showcases the dynamism and innovative drive of Taiwan’s contemporary performing arts scene, will be held from 15 April through to 26 April 2021 in NTCH and partner venues in greater Taipei area. The complete lineup of programmes will be announced in November 2020.