On June 16, Taiwan's Paper Windmill Theater kicked off an incredible start to the first day of the "Taiwan to Europe—Culture Touring!" event. The first stop of the cultural tour began at MKVM (Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism), a prestigious national museum in Hungary, with members of the performance troupe demonstrating spinning tops and puppet manipulation techniques.
The Paper Windmill Theater was invited by the Budapest City Government to bring a diverse range of cultural activities and performances as part of the city’s 150th anniversary celebration. There will be six rounds of cultural networking events as well as a stage play titled "Norza: The Adventure of Dragon Palace (哪吒鬧龍宮)" performed by the group. Through the story of Norza, a courageous and upright character in Chinese mythology, the group hopes to inspire the Ukrainian refugees in Hungary.
A total of 28 people, including performers, technicians, members of the production team, administration and more, will embark on the trip in three teams. The second team has arrived and rehearsal has begun. Prior to the performance, Paper Windmill Theatre leader Jen Chien-cheng (任建誠) encouraged his team members to show team spirit as they are representing Taiwan and at the same time, he also hoped that this tour will allow more people to get to know them as the children's performance troupe of Taiwan.
Katalin Rabai, MKVM's public relations campaign manager, said the museum aims to introduce people to the culture and history of different countries. They hope that more people will get to experience the beauty of Taiwan through the "Taiwan Day Carnival." Visitors will be able to try local food and experience Taiwanese culture at the carnival, Rabai added.
Founded in 1992, the Paper Windmill Theatre is a Taiwanese group that produces shows for children. Their productions take on various forms, spanning stage plays, musicals, mime shows, puppetry, and black light theater.
(Photo credit: General Association of Chinese Culture)