Department of Cultural Affairs

16 Days and 590 Performances this summer from today: No More Choosing a Specific Date for Watching Shows!

TPAC Adventure member event taking place on the TPAC rooftop in April. The upcoming Taipei Fringe Festival in August will also make use of TPAC’s rooftop, offering audiences a unique viewing experience. (Photography by Liu Pi-Tzu)

Summer marks a vibrant period for creative exchange and the development of performing arts in Taiwan, and the Taipei Fringe Festival is a crucial platform for showcasing emerging artists. Organized by the Taipei City Government and held by the Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC), the 2023 Taipei Fringe Festival is scheduled to take place from August 19 to September 3. A total of 135 performance groups will participate in this year’s festival and present 590 performances across 31 venues in Taipei. This eclectic array encompasses a variety of creative genres, including drama, dance, music, and the increasingly popular forms of musical theater and circus, all embodying this year’s theme: The Future is Here.

The theme aligns with TPAC’s core commitment to nurturing talent. This platform serves as a crucial space for discovering a new generation of artists, in the hope that these emerging talents will stir up creative ripples during the summer season. The experiences gained from each performance help to propel the performing arts forward on a new wave of innovation.

Exhibition carriages at the Xinbeitou Historic Station, which will be used as performance venues for the first time at the 2023 Taipei Fringe Festival.

New categories of circus and musical theater

Cultivating the next generation of performing talents

With a staggering 135 performance groups, the Taipei Fringe Festival encompasses a wide spectrum of creative categories. In addition to the familiar genres of drama, dance, music, and visual arts, this year's festival includes a new Circus category. Taiwanese circus is an amalgamation of Western and Eastern skills and styles, making it a popular genre among family audiences in recent years. The influx of young artists has unleashed the boundless potential of circus performance in Taiwan. 

Musical Theater has also been one of the most favored performance genres in Taiwan in recent times. TPAC has been steadfastly nurturing young musical theater talents through its Musical Theater Talent Training Program. This effort has translated into a noticeable trend at recent Taipei Fringe Festivals, with this year boasting an impressive lineup of 11 musical theater productions and 34 showings. These presentations offer a unique blend of audiovisual creativity that distinguishes them from traditional theatrical experiences.

2019 Taipei Fringe Festival performance taking place at Kishu An Forest of Literature, a historic grand hall. This year’s festival will return to this space. (Photography by Sung Hsiao-Hai)

Train Carriages, Japanese-style Heritage, Old Houses: Infusing Performances with Imagination in Diverse Spaces

Every year, the Taipei Fringe Festival explores various spaces within Taipei to determine their potential as performance venues. Through the boundless creativity of the festival’s performance groups, imaginative ideas are brought to life. This year, the festival’s 31 venues extend outwards from TPAC, with most venues conveniently accessible via Taipei Metro. Notable additions to this year’s festival include the train carriages of Xinbeitou Historic Station, the newly opened 11th-floor terrace at TPAC, the fragrant tatami mats at Kishu An Forest of Literature, and the evocative ruins of X YIRI ARTS.

The leisurely Stroll and Watch experience also finds its place within the Taipei Fringe Festival’s exhibit location. The historical buildings in Wanhua District, including venues like Wan Theater, Xinfu Market, and Bopiliao Historic Block, are the revitalization of Wanhua's historical buildings, carrying the local memories and spirits. Daodongcheng and surrounding areas, home to creative artisans, feature venues such as At the Venue, Thinkers’ Studio (思劇場), k.t.space (課廳演創空間), Yi-Chi Cultural Space (一起藝文空間), and Dancing Orchid Project. These old structures have been rejuvenated to showcase new energy through performance. They are easily accessible on foot, fostering a close connection between performance and local life.

X YIRI ARTS, a new venue for the 2023 Taipei Fringe Festival, has a powerful air of ruination and has inspired admiration among many performance groups. (Photography by Tsai Yao-Cheng)

In addition to the abundant performances awaiting audiences, the 2023 Taipei Fringe Festival is also presenting a series of activities in which the public is invited to embark on a summer journey of shared experience. On August 4, the exclusive TPAC No. 1 will open in TPAC’s Beidou Square. In addition to offering ticket sales and consultation services for festival events, TPAC No. 1 will host pop-up performances, live podcasts, and interactive activities every weekend during opening hours. On the afternoon of August 12, an opening event centered around the theme of “Roaming” will allow audiences and artists to serendipitously cross paths and discover all manner of creative expressions and surprises. 

More information about the 2023 Taipei Fringe Festival can be found on the festival website.

2023 Taipei Fringe Festival

Dates︱August 19 to September 3

Locations︱Various unconventional performance spaces and small theaters in Taipei City

Taipei Fringe Festival website: https://www.tpac-taipei.org/festival-fringe