Department of Cultural Affairs

New Works Debuted by Holo Taiwanese Opera and Shiukim Taiwanese Opera Troupes
 
The 2021 DaDaoCheng Theater Traditional Xiqu Performance Art Program Heritage Project set up by the Taipei City Arts Promotion Office has invited the Holo Taiwanese Opera and Shiukim Taiwanese Opera troupes to launch their new works (First Encounter—The End and Wandering in Past and Present Lives) over two weekends in December (20–21 and 27–28) on the 9th floor of Dadaocheng Theater.
 
The programs will include joint performances by both veteran and new artists, in the hope of passing on traditional xiqu for generations to come, as well as using new works to introduce innovation and vitality into traditional xiqu.
 
An Infatuation Without Regret: Romantic Drama First Encounter—The End
The Holo Taiwanese Opera Troupe has received recognition and several awards for their persistent respect for tradition and brave innovation.
 
The romance First Encounter—The End stars artist Li-Chun Chang with support from Yu-An Chen, Hsin-Tzu Liao, Yun-Cheng Lin, and Min-Chun Chang. The story centers on the love story between the actress and her cousin, and deals with family love, social reality, and value systems.
 
A superb theater actress, who is famous for being able to play both male and female roles, is in a relationship with her cousin, who is a musician. When the actress is falsely accused by a tyrant and a concubine who are obsessed with her androgynous looks, she is disfigured and loses her virginity. Realizing she is pregnant, the actress is ashamed and leaves her cousin, living in the mountains and giving birth to a daughter without knowing the name of the girl’s father. One day, the daughter is collecting firewood in the woods and rescues a sickly homeless person, which accidentally reveals the secret the actress has been hiding for all these years.
 
Not only is the play full of wonderful scenes, but the role of the actress also acts as a measure of the artist’s mastery. The production team includes art director Yung-Ming Chen, director Chien-Yuan Chiang, screenwriter Ching-Hsueh Hung, composer Yi-Chien Chou, and other outstanding talents who have created a performance that audiences will find exhilarating and romantic, dreadful and moving.
 
Fate is Carved into the Three-Lives Stone: Wandering in Past and Present Lives
Established in 1986, the Shiukim Taiwanese Opera Troupe has been a TAIWAN TOP theater troupe since 2001. The excellent performances of their talented artists have been instrumental in the creation of many new themes and innovative performance styles in recent years.
 
The power trio behind the group are: Michelle, screenwriter of Wandering in Past and Present Lives,  25th Global Chinese Culture & Arts Awards winner Shiu-Kim Chang, and female lead Chin-Mei Chuang. The cast also includes new artist Hsin-Yi Chang.
 
The story is about Wu-Hui Hu, who has recently lost his life after being betrayed in love by Hsin-Ju Meng. Wu-Hui’s blood brother Shao-An Pai goes to the underworld to give him an explanation, but when he arrives there he finds Wu-Hui banging his head on the Three-Lives Stone after drinking the “water of forgetfulness”. After this, Wu-Hui reincarnates into a tyrant called Tung Lo. Guilt makes Shao-An decide to return to the world of the living to help Wu-Hui, but the two lives are enmeshed in cycles of love and hate.
 
As in their previous performance Forget Love Potion, the troupe plays with the concept of reincarnation, taking the audience on a journey between the netherworld and the world of the living to depict greed, anger, ignorance, love, hatred, and affection with fascinating technique and abundant stage effects.
 
The roles of Wu-Hui and Tung Lo, his reincarnation, were played by Hsin-Yi Chang. The transformation between the two roles is a highlight of the production. Shao-An is played by troupe leader Shiu-Kim Chang, who has numerous splendid scenes playing against Hsin-Yi Chang that are really worth watching.
 
 
 
 
▍Holo Taiwanese Opera Troupe: First Encounter—The End
Time｜14:30, Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 November
▍Shiukim Taiwanese Opera Troupe: Wandering in Past and Present Lives
Time｜14:30, Saturday 27 & Sunday 28 November
Venue｜9th Floor, DaDaoCheng Theater, Taipei City Arts Promotion Office
(9F, No. 21, Sec 1, Dihua St, Datong Dist, Taipei City)