NTCH kicks off 35th Anniversary Celebrations

As 2022 approaches, the National Theater & Concert Hall (NTCH) is looking forward to its 35th anniversary. NTCH is delighted to stand alongside its colleagues in Taiwan and across the world as it faces the challenges brought on by the pandemic. These unprecedented times have given it a chance to reflect on its aspirations to be a more socially inclusive institution that embraces the values of openness, community, and innovation among artists and audiences alike. For the coming year, NTCH is looking forward to presenting events that move us closer toward fulfilling these goals.

2022 NTCH Sustainable & Inclusive Arts Conference

The NTCH will host the 2022 NTCH Sustainable & Inclusive Arts Conference on 20 and 21 January 2022. Achieving cultural equality and establishing a sustainable production system that incorporates principles of sustainability in the theatre industry are the main topics of the conference, which features speakers from Taiwan and abroad. The NTCH will share experiences from its own inclusivity initiative, which includes providing “easy-read” program brochures, touch tours of the spaces, and audio description services. At the conference, the NTCH will share its vision of how to become an environmentally-conscious theatre and adopt sustainability practices for the long term.

In February, we will announce an open call for submissions for the second edition of Asia Connection: Producers Camp (ACPC), an event for producers in the performing arts industry in the Asia-Pacific region. More details will be announced later on our Website. [Link to NTCH official website]

TIFA 2022: To Inspire. For All.

From February onwards, NTCH will also be running its 14th annual Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA) from 17 February to 18 May 2022. [Link to full program]

With a theme entitled “To Inspire. For All.,” this year’s TIFA features 18 specially selected performances, including the highly anticipated new works, Royal Feast of the Underworld, by the acclaimed Tang Mei Yun Taiwanese Opera Company and Send in a Cloud by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre.

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre – Send in a Cloud (Photographer: Lee Chia-yeh)

A number of shows in TIFA’s program speak directly to current events. Wang Jhao-Cian, a resident artist at the NTCH, will present The Prawning Decameron, a story about a prawn-fishing farm that is converted into a quarantine hotel in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. For this production, Wang is collaborating with the master puppeteer Yeung Fai. Also, acclaimed director Baboo Liao addresses the struggles of Asian migrant workers within the context of the pandemic in his play Artificial Hells. Meanwhile, TAI Body Theatre of Taiwan and EkosDance Company of Indonesia present a cultural exchange through the double bill production Ita and Ari-Ari.

Baboo Liao – Artificial Hells

Like artists and festivals around the world, TIFA has embraced online technologies to address some of the practical restrictions related to travel. It will present an online “whodunnit” show by Les Enfant Terribles, Sherlock Holmes: On Online Adventure, which combines live performance, immersive 360 technology and audience participation. Taking a more reflective stance, Francesc Serra Vila‘s Recall is a one-on-one online performance that looks at the human response to the pandemic and is carried out on the teleconferencing platform Google Meet. Colossus demonstrates how artists can collaborate from afar: Australian choreographer Stephanie Lake has developed a show with 50 Taiwanese dancers, providing direction via remote online connection.

Celebrating Our 35th Anniversary with a Dance Film

The NTCH is thrilled to celebrate its 35th anniversary with the release of a special film that features a tour of our twin buildings’ distinctive architectural features, led by dancers from Les Petites Choses Production. By drawing performer and spectator closer together, the film symbolises the NTCH’s long-held desire to establish and maintain fruitful partnerships.  [Link to film preview]

NTCH celebrates its 35th Anniversary with the launch of a special film. Photo provided by Bito.