Taiwan’s National Theater & Concert Hall Celebrates 35th Anniversary with Special Exhibition and Performance Series

The National Theater & Concert Hall (NTCH) of Taiwan is excited to be celebrating its 35th anniversary with a special series of performances and exhibitions that reflect its core values of inclusivity, innovation, community building and artistic mobility. The 35th Anniversary Event Series spans across autumn and winter of 2022 from 13 October to 18 December. The series includes the following highlights:

1. Dialectical: Trajectories and Displacements of NTCH

This retrospective, on-site exhibition looks at pivotal moments in the NTCH’s 35-year history.

2. Uranus Calling

A punk-rock musical about modern Taiwanese life will tour seven cities across Taiwan.

3. Turn Left, Turn Right

This stage adaptation of a work by acclaimed author/illustrator Jimmy Liao incorporates live digital imagery using 5G network technology.

4. A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction

A collaborative project with European consortium STAGES, this production puts concepts of sustainability into practice in the theatre (This performance is also part of ARTQUAKE in Autumn).

5. Q: A Night At The Kabuki

This rock musical that makes its Taiwan debut at the NTCH is inspired by the album of the same name by Queen. The production is directed by Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre artistic director Hideki Noda, with a cast that includes renowned performers Matsu Takako, Takaya Kamikawa, Hirose Suzu and Shison Jun.

NTCH Joins STAGES group, Prepares to Launch Sustainably-minded Theatre Production  

The NTCH is pleased to announce that it has joined the Sustainable Theatre Alliance for a Green Environmental Shift (STAGES), a collaboration between leading European theatres devoted to addressing the climate crisis. Co-funded by the European Union, STAGES currently has 14 members of which the NTCH is the sole representative from the Asia-Pacific region. STAGES seeks to reduce the carbon impact of international touring, implement social and financial transformation within theatre institutions, and include the voices of the general public in the creative processes of the theatre.

STAGES’ partners are committed to re-thinking touring processes by holding performances using local casts, local sets, and even electricity generated on stage. The performances will be re-stagings of two productions originally created for STAGES member Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne: Jérôme Bel, an autobiographical dance work by choreographer Jérôme Bel, and A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction by British director Katie Mitchell, which makes its Asian premiere with a three-day run from 11-13 November at the NTCH’s ARTQUAKE in Autumn.

Find out more about STAGES here: http://sustainablestages.eu/

ARTQUAKE In Autumn 2022 starts 14 October 

ARTQUAKE In Autumn, which features theatre and dance works about contemporary issues both in Taiwan and around the world runs from 14 October to 27 November. The following seven productions will be presented at this year’s edition:

1. Extraordinary Appeal

A play that re-examines martial law in Taiwan (1947-1987), a period with repercussions that continue to be felt today.

2. Die On That Day

A surrealistic, visually rich puppet show with live music about society’s “losers”, seen through the lens of our internal struggles with modern human existence.

3. Super Mom’s Club

This dance performance explores motherhood and asks us to think beyond feminine gender roles.

4. Beyond: the Spirits of the Visionaries

A performance of classical music works that uses theatrical stage elements to reflect the creative journeys of some of history’s greatest composers and their pursuit of artistic breakthroughs.

5. A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction

A collaborative endeavour with STAGES, this performance directly deals with the concept of sustainability and our relationship to the natural world.

6. Burnt [the eternal long now]

This dance work by Belgian-Taiwanese duo Lee Chen-Wei and Vakulya Zoltán looks at mental health afflictions, such as burnout syndrome, prevalent in today’s “high-achieving” society.

7. New Societies Online

This version adapted for Taiwan, authorised by Canadian creators Re:Current Theatre, is an interactive theatre game played by audience members, who must work together – or against each other – to create an ideal society.

More information on ARTQUAKE can be found here: https://npac-ntch.org/programs/series/ArtquakeInAutumn/

NTCH and Barcelona’s Mercat de les Flors to Carry Out Artist Residency Exchange This Autumn 

The NTCH and Mercat de les Flors of Barcelona, which formed an official venue partnership in 2021, have announced an artist residency exchange that takes place this autumn.

Lin I-chin, choreographer and artistic director of Bare Feet Dance Theatre, is slated to visit Barcelona in October, where she will hold a discussion on the concept of the “traditional” body, an important part of her work. She will present a performance piece, An Eternity Before and After, on 6 October at Fira Mediterrània de Manresa.

Roser López Espinosa, an accomplished choreographer active in Europe and former resident artist at Mercat de les Flors, takes her residency at the NTCH in November. She will hold a workshop to share her creative tools and practices and engage in cultural exchanges and other activities with Taiwanese artists.