★★★★★ Theatre Review: Final Bow《散戏》by Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group

Heartfelt, hilarious, and profoundly moving, Final Bow is a theatrical triumph that captures the bittersweet beauty of an art form standing at the end of an era and the edge of change. What makes theatre so precious is its transience. Each performance exists only in that instant, where there are no two ever alike, no recording ever truly able to capture the electricity of being … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Final Bow《散戏》by Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group

Final Bow: An Interview with lead and gezaixi star Sun Tsui-Feng and director/playwright Huang Chih-Kai

In the shifting cultural landscape of 1960s and ’70s Taiwan, when the rise of cinema and television pulled audiences away from the theatre, many feared the extinction of Taiwanese Hokkien opera, better known as gezaixi. Once resplendent in grand indoor theatres, opera troupes were forced onto makeshift outdoor stages, clinging to survival even as their audiences dwindled. It was in this atmosphere of uncertainty that … Continue reading Final Bow: An Interview with lead and gezaixi star Sun Tsui-Feng and director/playwright Huang Chih-Kai