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Taipei Fringe Festival celebrates diversity

• Publication Date：07/20/2011
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Kwangyin Liu

Experimental art, stand-up comedy and sadomasochism demonstrations are sure to tickle the fancy of more than a few visitors at the upcoming Taipei Fringe Festival, according to the city government’s Department of Culture July 19.

“The event is fast becoming a landmark on Taipei’s’ cultural roadmap and a mainstream platform for subcultures to showcase alternative art,” a city official said.

The 16-day festival, which will see 108 groups put on nearly 400 shows between Aug. 27 and Sept. 11, is being staged in a variety of venues, including bookstores, cafes, galleries, hotels, theaters and abandoned buildings dotted around Taipei.

Performance genres range from art installation and drama to dance and live music, exploring topics such as manic depression, cross-cultural love and the limits of human sexuality.

Sirens, a five-member Taiwanese a capella group, is set to deliver a multilingual repertoire featuring Renaissance polyphony and jazz and pop arrangements. In addition, Live Comedy Club, comprising mainly amateur artists, will entertain festivalgoers with their fast-moving, big-laugh routines.

Matthew Townend, a U.K.-based stage director, teams up with local performers for the romantic comedy “Very Foreigner," addressing issues in cross-cultural relationships.

But one show sure to turn heads at the festival contains bondage, discipline and sadomasochism role-plays.

“We are exploring the possibilities of human bodies and emotions while demonstrating that these activities can be safe and fun,” a spokesperson for Taiwan’s BDSM Society said.

Now in its fourth year, the Taipei Fringe Festival follows in the footsteps of its better-known cousin in Edinburgh, giving undiscovered artists a world-class platform to display their wares.

Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw