Department of Cultural Affairs

Ernest Kung Takes Home Best Actor in a Musical (最佳音樂劇類男演員獎), Thanks the Taipei Theatre Awards for Recognizing His Journey 

Kimi Chang Takes Home Best Actress in a Musical (最佳音樂劇類女演員獎), Thanks Her Parents and Jokes About Being “Taiwan’s Oldest Newcomer” 

Organized by the Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the 2nd Taipei Theatre Awards was held at the Taipei Performing Arts Center’s Globe Playhouse (球劇場) at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 6, 2026. The ceremony was also livestreamed on LINE TODAY and the Taipei Theatre Awards YouTube channel, attracting more than ten thousand online views. 

Host Yo-sing Fun delighted the audience with her humor and introduced theatre professionals celebrating their long-awaited moment of glory to viewers who are passionate about the performing arts. Taipei Mayor Wayne Chiang also attended the ceremony, joining the audience in celebrating this contemporary theatre award, which the performing arts community was looking forward to for more than twenty years.

Unlike other award ceremonies which are typically held on weekends, the Taipei Theatre Awards was deliberately scheduled for a Monday because that is the closest thing theatre professionals have to a “weekend”. Once the performances are over and the stage lights go dark, Monday is the rare moment theatre practitioners have to rest and get together. By holding the ceremony on a Monday, the Department of Cultural Affairs created a valuable opportunity for the theatre community to come together. More than 90% of nominees attended the ceremony in person to celebrate what was described as a gathering for the entire theatre world.

There were plenty of emotional moments as winners gave heartfelt acceptance speeches as they collected their awards. Tzu-heng Lin won Best Actor in a Drama (最佳戲劇類男演員獎) for his performance in Cinderfella (The Party Theater Group). In this one-man show, he portrayed nearly twenty characters, skillfully bridging the gap created by the weight of history and presenting the painful memories of political prisoners in a deeply moving way. After an intense panel discussion, Lin was chosen from a shortlist including strong competition such as Morning Mo and Chia-chen Chang, and earned the award for his outstanding performance. In his acceptance speech, he thanked his family, “especially my mother, for giving me so much love and understanding—allowing this stubborn child of yours to come this far” and ended with, “I love you, Mom!” leaving not a dry eye in the house.

The award for Best Actress in a Drama (最佳戲劇類女演員獎) went to Yen-ling Hsu, who credited her entire team, humbly saying, “Theatre is a collective effort. Although I’ve been given an individual award today, for me it’s my team’s. A big thank you to all my fellow theatre partners.”

The award for Best Actor in a Musical (最佳音樂劇類男演員獎) was presented to Ernest Kung, known as the “prince of theatre.” Accepting the award, Kung said that 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, was the most difficult year for theatre professionals. With no work available, he had to become a delivery driver. 

“Back then, I felt like the unluckiest person in the world. But I want to thank the judges of the Taipei Theatre Awards for helping me realize that I was actually the luckiest person in the world. Because of my delivery work, I experienced many strange and unexpected moments, which inspired producer Che-ya Chan to write this play that eventually brought me all the way to the Taipei Theatre Awards.” 

Drawing from his own experience, Ernest Kung also offered encouragement to those facing difficult times: “No matter what you are going through right now, please never hurt yourself or give up on yourself. Eat well, sleep well, and take good care of yourself, because the darkness you are experiencing today will become the light of your future achievements.”

The award for Best Actress in a Musical (最佳音樂劇類女演員獎) was won by Kimi Chang for her performance in the Broadway rock musical NEXT TO NORMAL, in which she portrayed a mother struggling between reality and delusion after the loss of a child. Her emotionally powerful vocals and refined acting moved the judges. Chang moved to New York at the age of 25 to pursue her career and did not return to Taiwan until she was 43. She jokingly described herself as “Taiwan’s oldest newcomer.”

The award for Best Director (最佳導演獎) went to Chien-han Hung, Wei-yao Hung, and Ray Tseng of Co-coism for their work FAMILY TRIANGLE. The three directors admitted that they originally thought the award would go to veteran theatre director Chia-ming Wang, so they were overwhelmed when their names were announced. They then happily thanked the panel for “giving the award to such a quirky team.” Chien-han Hung attended the ceremony while nine months pregnant and prompted laughter with her quip, “First comes marriage, then comes the baby.”

The Taipei Performing Arts Center announced the Lighting Up Theatre Development Grant Program (點亮劇場發展獎助計畫) during the inaugural Taipei Theatre Awards. This year, the program will continue building upon the achievements of the Awards by partnering with Yeats Charitable Trust, New Deantronics Ltd., Trigold Holdings Limited, and BizLink International Corp. to support award recipients continuing their creative productions and performances. With the core goal of cultural sustainability, the program encourages artists to continue shining on stage and contribute more profound and influential works to Taipei’s cultural landscape.

With the 2nd Taipei Theatre Awards ceremony successfully coming to an end, the Department of Cultural Affairs representative said that the awards are not merely a recognition of achievement but an opportunity for audiences to discover the diverse and rich creativity of theatre professionals. 

The complete list of winners is available on the official Taipei Theatre Awards website.