Chinese Name: 不可無料劇場
Established: 2015
Founders: Joscha Chung (鍾欣志), Chung Hsin-yi (鍾欣怡)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biutheatre?locale=zh_TW
Did You Know That…?
The name of BIU Theatre refers to the abbreviation of “Boring Is Unforgivable,” which is the standard set by the troupe in creating its theatrical productions.
BIU Theatre is a contemporary performing arts group from Chiayi City (嘉義市). It focuses its creations on original, modern, experimental, crossover, and bilingual presentations, and has been selected many times as one of the outstanding performing troupes in Chiayi. Established in 2015, the troupe consists of talented thespians aged between 25 and 30, including its founders Joscha Chung and Chung Hsin-yi, who are siblings. Obtaining his doctorate in theater arts from Taipei National University of the Arts, Joscha Chung specializes in scriptwriting and directing. He now teaches in National Chung Cheng University (國立中正大學) in Chiayi. Chung Hsin-yi, Joscha’s younger sister, holds a master’s degree in theater from Royal Holloway, University of London, working as a playwright for theaters, films, and television dramas. Reflecting on the lack of modern performing arts resources in Chiayi, Chung Hsin-yi thus recruited a group of like-minded performers to found BIU Theatre with her older brother.
BIU Theatre commits to the development of Taiwanese original creations and diverse forms of performance, such as literary theater, new circus, participatory theater, and family theater. Since 2017, BIU Theater has been invited to various major art festivals in Taiwan, including the Changhua Theater Art Festival (彰化劇場藝術節), Chiayi Arts Festival (嘉義藝術節), Summer Theatre Festival (夏至藝術節), Changhua Children’s Arts Festival (彰化劇場藝術節), Grasstraw Festival (草草戲劇節), and Taitung Fringe Festival (台東藝穗節).
In 2016, BIU Theatre debuted with its first creation “Liars (謊畫),” which was presented through the form of readers theater. The troupe was featured at Chiayi Arts Festival in 2017 with its piece “Today We are Not Old (彼時未見),” a play created by Chung Hsin-yi. BIU also collaborated with a local coffee shop in Chiayi to put on the show “Double Shot (啡嚐演選).” Performed at the Changhua Theater Art Festival in 2019, BIU’s production “Bedtime (第366夜)” was a participatory theater that invited its audiences to enjoy bedtime stories on the stage at Chiayi City Concert Hall, providing the participants with unique theatrical experiences. In the same year, BIU presented “Box Boys and His Friends (箱男孩與他的朋友們),” a play that reflects the connections between people. It was an approach to circus and theater that the troupe made for audiences of all ages.
In 2020, the group joined the Taitung Fringe Festival for the first time, bringing its site-specific performance titled “Last Pool Time, No Water (老池攝交場—尬游派對)” at an abandoned swimming pool that was transformed by BIU into a performance stage. The next year, BIU Theatre was selected as the artist-in-residence at the Taitung Fringe Festival, conducting a series of fieldwork and workshops to interact with local people. In 2021, the troupe created a play “A Civil Servant Is Born (一個公務員的誕生),” a black comedy that explores bureaucracies and power, interpreting a serious issue with theatrical art.
In addition to creating original scripts and exploring further theatrical possibilities, BIU also establishes international connections and fosters cultural exchanges with performing artists from Australia, Singapore, and the United States. The troupe strives to provide the younger generation of playwrights, directors, performers, and creators with a platform to expand audiences and build an art brand in the performing arts field.