ABOUT OUR THEATRE

“Gún kio̍k-thuân”, means “our theatre” in Taiwanese.

Our Theatre is the first performing arts group for contemporary theatre to be officially established in the greater Chiayi area. It intentionally distances itself from the metropolitan areas and chooses Chiayi as its base. The troupe focuses on folk culture and common people and is devoted to developing productions from a southern point of view and experimenting with a new generation of Taiwanese-language works. It strives to set a new direction for the development of art and culture in Chiayi. At the same time, it is constantly aware of the question of how theatre should connect with people and society.

Works in Mother-Tongue

Since their establishment, Our Theatre has produced twenty works with different styles. In recent years, Our Theatre has begun to work with Taiwanese-language productions. At first, Our Theatre begins by adapting a Western classic into a Taiwanese work that fits in the local moods with a humorous touch. The purpose is to explore how the mother tongue of Taiwanese can be accepted and rediscovered by the new generation in this new era. Mr. Golden W Chen's Marriage, Summertime Daze, and Ubu Roi are all adapted and transformed from Western classic works (by Molière, William Shakespeare and Alfred Jarry) and seesed with a great amount of Taiwanese local culture. In 2016, Our Theatre cooperated with famous Japanese little theatre director Show Ryuzanji and his troupe Ryuzanji Company on Macbeth: Paint it, Black!, which became the first tragedy in the Our Theatre Western Canons in Taiwanese. In 2017, at the invitation of Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Macbeth: Paint it, Black! marks the first international tour of Our Theatre. In addition to adaptations, Our Theatre is going one step further in 2017, Songs Unsung in My Heart is Our Theatre’s first try at brand new original musical in Taiwanese. It was spectacularly performed and cheered in the Tainan Arts Festival in an outdoor square.

Documentary Theatre

In 2015 Our Theatre was invited by the Taipei Arts Festival to produce a documentary theatre. The result is The Delusion of Home, dealing with foreign marriages and population loss in rural areas. In an attempt to bring social issues to the stage, a lot of field research was done and many photos and film clips were used to create a link that ties together local lives in the small fishing port of Dongshih. In 2017 Our Theatre again uses this method to work on another project with the Chio-Tian Folk Drums and Arts Troupe. The Restricted Area, which is about teens dropping out of school, uses materials and life stories provided by Chio-Tian’s members, who also portray themselves in this work.

Grasstraw Festival

Since 2009, the company has held its Grasstraw Festival annually, transforming the Chiayi Performing Arts Center into the engine of creativity and offering youth a stage on which to perform. Every year, Our Theatre organizes a six-month theatrical training course for those interested in performing. The course culminates in a collaborative theatrical work created by participants and company members, with a public performance held at the next Grasstraw Festival.

The Farm of Plays

Taiwanese playwright Yu-Hui Wang is the principal investigator of “The Farm of Plays” project. This annual project begins from 2013, each year young playwrights are invited to discuss and brainstorm together and then to write their own new play. Their works are performed in an opening reading festival, publicly commented by critics, and published by a registered publishing house. The project aims to bring about more plays that are both “actable” and “readable” for the mandarin-speaking theatre.

Promotion of Art and Culture

With the community and campus as the target groups, seminars, performance workshops, tours, and community development plans gradually cultivate an audience, creating a diverse atmosphere for art and culture atmosphere. Furthermore, since 2011, Chiayi Countryside Project was kicked off to sow the seeds of art and culture have culminated in a tour of theatrical performances at remote townships in the Greater Chiayi Area.

Contact Us

TEL: 05-2261428, 0912-160076

FAX: 05-2264267

ADDRESS: 265, Sec. 2, Jianguo Rd., Minxiong Township, Chiayi, Taiwan 62153

EMAIL: ourtheatre.tw@gmail.com