Organized by the National Center for Traditional Arts (NCFTA), 2022 Taiwan Traditional Theatre Festival (2022臺灣戲曲藝術節) will kick off at the Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center on April 1.
The festival, which runs through June 5, will offer a series of productions ranging from Taiwanese opera, Hakka opera, puppet show, Nanguan and Beiguan to Beijing opera, Henan opera, and Rakugo that embody cultural elements of the land. For the first time, this year’s edition invited National Award for Arts winner Lee Hsiao-ping (李小平) and playwright Shih Ju-fang (施如芳) to curate the festival.
The festival will feature "The Unnamed Island: the Hagseed and the Wizard (無題島：孽種與魔法師)," a flagship production co-created by Ming Hua Yuan Tian Zi Art & Culture Group (明華園天字戲劇團), a representative group of its kind from southern Taiwan, and Shakespeare's Wild Sisters Group (莎士比亞的妹妹們的劇團), a theater company specializing in combining modern theatre with Taiwan folk art and art culture.
Inspired by Shakespeare's play "The Tempest," "The Unnamed Island: the Hagseed and the Wizard" presents a magical realism story, which integrates the classic structure of a Shakespearean play with an outdoor Taiwanese opera element.
In addition, the festival will host a wide range of productions by reputable performance groups in Taiwan, including "The Golden Cangue (金鎖記)" and "Journey through Hell (閻羅夢－天地一秀才)" by GuoGuang Opera Company (國光劇團), "The Prawning Decameron (釣蝦場的十日談)" by Our Theatre (阮劇團) and Yeung Fai (楊輝), "Anatomy of the Ghost Festival (中元的構圖)" by Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe (榮興客家採茶劇團), and "Journey into Lost Time of TWATUTIA (魔幻時空大稻埕)" by National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan (臺灣國樂團).
Other productions include "Golden Lotus Wrapped Dreams (金蓮纏夢)" by Taiwan Bangzi Opera Company (臺灣豫劇團), "Paper Cut Dreamer: the Song of Ming River (剪紙人－明河之歌)" by Puppet & Its Double Theater (無獨有偶工作室劇團), "A Bangle in Gold and Silver (金銀鐲)" by La Cie MaxMind (拾念劇集), "Water Ghosts Theatre (水鬼請戲)" by Taipei Puppet Theater (臺北木偶劇團), "You Have No Time (逢魔時刻)" by Grassing Theatre (草搞場), and "Who's Koxinga (國姓之鬼)" by Taipei Seagull Theatre (臺北海鷗劇場).