Taiwan Review
Date: November 1, 2015
By: LIU YING-FENG
Golden Bough seeks to bring local audiences back to Taiwanese theater.
All the world’s a stage, and the 22-year-old Golden Bough Theatre has embraced this
Golden Bough Theatre’s traveling shows bring the troupe’s expressive style and over-the-top antics to townships all across Taiwan. (Photo by Chuang Kung-ju)
maxim to the fullest as it captivates audiences in locations as diverse as the misty mountains of Wufeng Township in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu County and the bustling night markets of Daxi District in the municipality of Taoyuan. Rather than being about pretentious philosophies and artistic abstruseness, Golden Bough’s performances focus on exaggerated motions and belly laughs, aiming to entice audiences back to the theater with entertainment for the masses.
Formed in 1993 in today’s New Taipei City, “Golden Bough was built up by Taiwanese audiences over the years, ticket by ticket,” says Wang Rong-yu (王榮裕), the theater’s founder and creative director. It is this support that inspired Wang six years ago to start the “Golden Bough Across Taiwan” program, which takes shows such as She is So Lovely… and Midsummer Night’s Dream to townships up and down the nation. The hope is that by making the performances more accessible, the director says, the tours can sow the seeds of a vibrant arts scene around Taiwan.
Opera for the People-1
The troupe is committed to performing for the masses in a style that mixes popular appeal and classic storytelling. (Photo by Chuang Kung-ju) [FULL STORY]
