2024 NTT-FUN, A Summer of Family and Plays

2024 NTT-FUN (Photo credit: National Taichung Theater)

Let the Theatre be Your Summer Playground 

In late May this year, the National Taichung Theater (NTT) was thrilled to announce its annual summertime programme NTT Summer Fun Time (NTT-FUN), which has always been loved by the audience. From 13 Jul to 8 Sep, the 11 exciting programmes, which include plays, musicals, puppet shows, and audio-visual performances are open to all ages and families. This coming summer, the NTT will transform into a vibrant playground where even the youngest audience, including newborns, can enjoy the theatre experience. 

With the debut of the baby theatre You Are My Sunlight by the NTT Emerging Artists Project ─ Sleep No Playground, families with infants can explore the theatre space with their senses, experiencing their very first encounter with the performing arts. Additionally, a thrilling Circus Party by the talented Taiwanese group Formosa Circus Art will captivate the inner child in every audience member, from ages 0 to 100. 

Night Light (Photo credit: Bo Amstrup)

This year, NTT’s programming is tailored to specific age groups, starting with children aged 3 to 12—an ideal range for exploring engaging storylines. Internationally acclaimed Andy Manley and the Danish Teater Refleksion will present their poetic and child-centric creation, Night Light, in the NTT Black Box. This magical journey helps children learn not to fear the darkness. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s first children’s theatre troupe, FengShen Baobao Troupe, dedicated to storytelling through traditional opera and local culture, will open the NTT-FUN season with their latest creation: Princess Kavalan & General Turtle. This play weaves Taiwan’s local myths into a brand-new story told through the lens of traditional opera. Additionally, HEY! YOU, another children’s play by the Taiwanese group Théâtre des Enfants Terribles, will introduce instruments by utilising music, body, and objects, piecing together the journey of the protagonist Luo and her sometimes ’emotional’ cello. 

(Peter Pan (Photo credit: 李欣哲 LEE Hsin-che)

For the 7 to 15 age group, NTT-FUN offers a selection of more challenging yet appealing new works and global topics. Taiwan’s rising dance group Hung Dance aims to change the perception of contemporary dance through their latest piece, Peter Pan. The child-focused piece was inspired by the original work The Little White Bird and solely placed its emphasis on the boy who never grows up. This dance drama excludes Wendy and other characters, paying homage to children’s boundless imagination and the struggles of growing up. While in NTT’s unconventional theatre space Tutu Gallery, another dream-like fantasy that ignites a synesthetic experience across multiple senses will be brought to real life by 2023-2024 NTT Artist-in-Residence YEH Ting-hao. Reverberation of Illusions merges immersive projection and sound design through real-time algorithms, crafting an audio-visual symphony where sound and light traverse and flow amidst the curved wall of Tutu Gallery. In Dimanche by Focus Company and Chaliwaté from Belgium, the critically acclaimed production humorously and exaggeratedly portrays human nature in the face of an impending apocalypse, employing objects, puppetry, images, sound, mime, and physical performances to highlight the human tendency to cling to normalcy in the face of ecological disaster. 

Don’t Cry, Dancing Girls the Musical (Photo credit: 林政億 Terry Lin)

In the musical section, the NTT offers three exceptional productions, headlined by the immensely popular musical: Don’t Cry, Dancing Girls by VMTheatre Company, which sold out 25,000 tickets immediately upon release in May. The company has meticulously crafted the background and cultural context of the production, depicting the emotions of local Taiwanese people in a humorous and relatable manner, fostering a strong sense of empathy among audiences. Additionally, Once is a critically acclaimed musical adaptation of the Irish music romance film, featuring renowned actors like Arthur Darvill from London’s West End and New York’s Broadway. Winning eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, the show is particularly suitable for young audiences who love to go to the theatre with friends. Lastly, HaoxHsiaoTroupe presents a new Taiwanese rap musical, Tales of Success: the Return of a Prodigal Son, which humorously explores the rivalry within a father-son collaboration of great work, following a long journey of readings and workshops to finally debut at the NTT Playhouse.  

This summer, the NTT is a playground specially designed for families to share moments, hoping that both old friends and new audiences can all find the programmes they want to watch at 2024 NTT-FUN Summer Fun Time.  

More information can be found here: https://www.npac-ntt.org/SummerFunTime/