Exploring Thrilling Possibilities in NTT’s Summer Fun Time series

To provide more opportunities to marvel at the creativity of local artists, Summer Fun Time at the National Taichung Theater (NTT) is just a season bursting in technicolor that celebrates Taiwanese artistry. 

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, the second-longest running Off-Broadway musical and endearingly referred to by its fans as LPC, revolves around the theme of love and relationship. Being brought to Taichung by Activa Productions this time, it presents the original English version and features an A-list line-up of lead actors. Based on Coming Back Alive, an autobiographical novel by Taiwanese literature laureate CHEN Chien-wu, Tropical Angels is a musical adaptation by LIN Meng-huan, NTT’s artist in residence in 2019-2020. The heartbreaking story is a song of agony about fate, salvation and commitment. ChiChiao Musical Theatre’s Kurama Tengu, based on the work of the same title written by Japanese novelist Osaragi Jiro, is about a group of revolutionary heroes fighting against the military government. Directed by LIU Chien-guo, who is known for her ingenious fusion of traditional and contemporary elements, this epic is presented through “oo-phiat-a”, a traditional Taiwanese opera style and performed by an all-star cast.

Kurama Tengu

In TSAI Po-cheng’s latest work ALICE, an international collaboration between B.DANCE and Tanz Luzerner Theater, the talented choreographer reimagines this classic work of children’s literature, as a fantasy world of wonder meets the artistry of Zen. ALICE draws people with the breathtaking choreography, haute couture costumes and a stylish stage design into a very special wonderland, with an uncanny and deeply psychological atmosphere. Whilst CHOU Shu-yi explores equality and inequality of the body with theater actor CHENG Chih-chung in their collaboration of The Center, interrogating the meaning of “born equal” in the context of family, society and state. The creative process revolves around the human body, with concerns about world affairs and social movements and confronts the oppression of humanity manifested in the form of physical constraints. 

The Center

Classical opera Hänsel und Gretel, with a secured place in the repertoires of major opera houses for the young audience’s first opera experience, is staged with a modern take in NTT this summer. Directed by interdisciplinary artist Ballboss, led by young German-based Taiwanese conductor YANG Su-han and accompanied by a local sinfonietta orchestra, this opera tells the story of a magical adventure of finding one’s way back home, and is set in the present day with familiar daily life setting to close the gap between fairy tale and modern-day reality.

Hänsel und Gretel

From its success in Festival OFF d’Avignon to Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes in France, Soup of Reincarnation by Jin Kwei Lo Puppetry Company provides a rare opportunity to appreciate the delicate nuances of facial expression and physical dexterity. Inspired by Chinese folk tales, this work revisits the lives of iconic female roles from traditional repertoire with a feministic take. 

Through an open call of the NTT Emerging Artists Project, Order from Chaos brings their latest creation Helter Skelter – Tilted Border as a response to the impact of pandemic. By deploying a large seesaw-like metal installation and wearable electromagnet accessories, this work is a bold attempt to create an anti-gravity space for performance, expressing. 

Helter Skelter – Tilted Border

Summer Fun Time takes place from 10 Jul – 29 Aug. Visit the National Taichung Theater’s website for more information.