- Chinese Name: 優人神鼓
- Year of Establishment: 1973
- Founder and Artistic Director: Liu Ruoyu (劉若瑀)
- Website: www.utheatre.org.tw
- Behind the Name: The pronunciation of the alphabetical letter "U” is similar to that of the word "excellence” in the Chinese language. The character for "excellence” was also used to refer to "performers” in ancient China.
About the Group:
U-Theatre is a unique performance group in Taiwan known for its combination of theater arts and drumming … (read more)
Select Programs:
"Meeting with Bodhisatta”
- "It is an exquisite, overwhelming spectacle, one that forces you to move your body in time as the drums' reverberations echo in your heart.” - Willamette Week's Kelly Clarke
- "Given its mantra of calmness, its mixture of Asian art forms and its theatricality, this production is a good choice to start a celebration of cultures.” - Adelaide's Brian Godfrey
- "Percussion on a grand scale, laced through with ancient Buddhist chants and martial arts ritualism.” - The Oregonian's Catherine Thomas
"Sound of the Ocean”
- "A meditative journey that spoke personally to each audience member … like being pulled in by waves, by the tide, like entering the heart of an ocean.” - City Newspaper's Casey Carlsen
- "Delivered with expressionless intensity and monastic concentration, this is an undeniably powerful work.” - Elsewhere's Graham Reid
- "This handsomely choreographed group-drumming ritual aims to explore the cyclical life of water … the concentration and focus of the swaying, bounding performers is impressive, as is the purity of their material.” - The New York Times' Jennifer Dunning
- "Adding the drama and energy of the Western style performance to the spiritual dimension and precision of the original works … their music has connections with other cultures.” - National Business Review's John Daly-Peoples
"Sword of Wisdom”
- "An exhilarating fusion of martial arts, synchronized drumming, and acrobatic elegance … U-Theatre presents drumming as an elevated level of art.” - Markham Review
Media Collection