Words from the Artistic Director

Brilliant Ten, Perfect Ten!

The Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA) is to celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2018. If there is anything for sure upon marching toward the 10th year, it would be that we have a better understanding of what TIFA is going to explore and how it will grow.

Officially launched in 2009, TIFA is 10 years old now. At this moment, I don't think it necessary to make any further statement about whether festivals are guarantees of success in box offices or important indexes to assist audiences in selecting programs. Neither do I have to elaborate why the National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH) began the story of TIFA. I only want to share with you my opinions on how TIFA should develop in the next decade.

Since its opening in 1987, NTCH had been the only venue for performing arts at the national level in Taiwan for the past 30 years. Therefore it has become one of the most important tasks for NTCH over the years to propose innovative ideas, to meet with the expectations from all sectors in the society, and to distribute resources in a fair and just manner. One after another, NTCH has accomplished various tasks at different stages. Now, where should its next journey embark? In addition to reviewing the ever changing cultural environment in Taiwan as well as abroad, NTCH is obliged to further clarify, define, and re-focus its role and to proactively face the new "era of partnership" in dividing labors and sharing resources with other venues.

The 2018 TIFA is to usher a brand new start in celebrating the "Brilliant Ten! Perfect Ten!" NTCH, on the other hand, is to share memories and prospection with old audiences, to try experiences and challenges with new audiences, and to jointly develop and materialize creative and innovative ideas with artists. By organizing TIFA, NTCH aims to transform itself into a cradle for cultivating talents for performing arts in Taiwan and to become the venue of performing arts that harbors the utmost artistic ideals and shoulders the cultural responsibilities.

Looking back, when Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch's Nelken fascinated Taiwanese audiences with its unusual physical performances, barking dogs and thousands of carnations forming a thorny stage in 1997, it broke the stereotype of the ordinary perception about dancing and astonished the whole society. However, the program left a beautiful impression in the audiences' minds, bearing testimony to the outcome of NTCH's efforts in cultivating dancing theater in Taiwan. Twenty years later, Nelken is to return to the stage of the National Theater, declaring the determination of the 2018 TIFA to move forward as well as the further opening-up in Taiwan's arts environment. In addition, WANG Chia-ming and LEE Yi-Hsiu, two major playwrights and directors in the up-and-coming generation, will present their distinguished vocabularies of creativity in their latest productions. Meanwhile, PING Heng, the laureate of National Arts Award, and NTCH Artist-in-Residence SU Wen-chi – two artists from different generations yet both showcasing creative power and strong international connections – will demonstrate new energies of dancing. The 2018 TIFA features not only the integration of different generations, but also the invaluable tradition inherited and passing on from generation to generation, such as the collaboration between ARA Kimbo, father of the folk songs in Taiwan, and WU Hao-en, creative singer of the new generation form the Puyuma tribe. All of these numerous brilliant splendors that we take pride in can be found in the 2018 TIFA.

Step by step, TIFA is moving toward its 10th year. For the past nine years, TIFA has not only become an important springboard for domestic artists to step onto the international stage, but also an indispensible platform in Asia highly acclaimed by many foreign performing arts groups. We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the audiences for their warm company and for creating the brilliant time with us. All the honors should be given to those who have supported and loved TIFA in these years. It is our sincere hope that we will join hands in creating another brilliant and perfect 10 years!

Huey-mei Lee
Executive and Artistic Director, National Theater & Concert Hall
National Performing Arts Center

Ticketing

2017/10/25-10/31: Advanced purchase with 20% off for NTCH members
Tickets sale officially starts from 2017/11/1.

Booking

兩廳院售票系統

TIFA Ticket Discounts

EARY BIRDS DISCOUNT (2017/10/25-11/30)

Anyone who purchases tickets of NT$1,600 or above, regardless of the total amount of purchase, may enjoy 25% off, but Jekyll&Hyde&Tears&Liquor and Carnations are not applicable. (Both NTCH members and general public are eligible.)

Tickets Set Discount

(Advanced purchase for NTCH members starts from October 25 and then the tickets sale is open to general public since November 1.)

PERFECT10 Set —

  • Enjoy 30% off when purchasing one ticket for at least ten programs in one purchase. (The discount excludes programs at the Experimental Theater and the Recital Hall as well as tickets with the lowest price.
  • Limited offer: First 200 sets will be accompanied by Escents Essential Oil Hand Cream as a gift.

  • Programs in Concert Hall (5):Danielle de Niese & Lucerne Festival Strings’ From Mozart to Broadway; Kid Koala’s Nufonia must fall; Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir’s Ilha Formosa; NSO MD Series 4 - Maher 7; and SENAY.

    Programs in National Theater (6):Crystal Pite & Jonathon Young’s Betroffenheit; La Cie MaxMind’s Isle of Dreams; Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch’s Carnations; Shakespeare's Wild Sisters Group’s Dear Life; Kouki Mitani’s Jekyll&Hyde&Tears&Liquor; and La Piccola Familia’s Richard III.

Traveling Worldwide Set

Enjoy 25% off when purchasing any two tickets for any two performances of Yamma Ensemble’s Basket full of stars and World Music Ensemble E-DO.

Exclusive Discount for TIFA Partnership —

  • Enjoy 10% off when purchasing tickets from the National Theater and the Concert Hall with FamilyMart’s cup sleeves in the period of 2018/2/28-4/15.

Daily Discount From 2017/11/01 —

  • 5% off for SPOT members;
  • 10% off for NTCH members; Eslite members; postpaid customers of Taiwan Mobile with the authentication code; KGI Bank credit card holders;
  • 20% off for students (with valid student IDs while purchasing and admission);
  • 50% off for senior citizens above 65 years of age and people with disabilities (with valid IDs while purchasing and admission)

NOTICES FOR DISCOUNT TICKETS

  1. The PERFECT10 Set gift can be exchanged with the gift voucher at the information desks in the Concert Hall and National Theater between November 15, 2017 and April 15, 2018.
  2. No refund for single program will be accepted after the purchase of ticket sets.
  3. Only one discount program can be selected while purchasing tickets.
  4. Tickets are available at box offices of the NTCH Ticketing System, 7-11 ibon, FamilyMart, and Hi-Life.

DISCOUNT TICKETS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (APPLICABLE ONLY TO PROGRAMS ORGANIZED BY NTCH)

Given the safety consideration, people with disabilities (including wheel-chair users) should access to the auditorium with the assistance of accompanying families or friends.

Seats for people with disabilities and wheel-chair users (applicable only to programs performed in the National Theater and the Concert Hall)

  1. Tickets for the seats for people with disabilities and wheel-chair users are available both on the official website and at the box office of the NTCH. From the second Sunday to the third Sunday in every month, free tickets for the program in the next month are available for request by people with disabilities and one of their accompanies. For those who choose to book tickets on-line, please book tickets on the designated webpage of the official website of the NTCH Ticketing System, which offers free tickets to people with disabilities for the programs organized by the NTCH, and then collect them at the ticket office of the performing venues on the date of performance with valid IDs and Disability Cards. For those who choose to collect tickets on site, please collect tickets at the ticket office of the NTCH with the original copy of the Disabilities Cards. For each of the performances, there are 13 seats for people with disabilities in the National Theater and 19 in the Concert Hall, while there are five seats for wheel-chairs users in the National Theater and six in the Concert Hall. Those who use seats for wheel-chair users should use their own wheel-chairs when admitted to the auditorium.
  2. Each person can only request for free tickets for one performance per month (no more than two tickets, including the accompanying person). If collecting tickets on behalf of people with disability, you can only collect tickets for one person only.
  3. If there are tickets remaining after the on-line booking and on-site collecting, the remaining tickets are available for reservation via telephone (02-33939888) at 1-5pm from the third Monday to third Saturday every month. After reservation, please send the photocopies of the front and back of the Disability Card via fax (02-33939908) for verification. Once verified, you may collect the tickets for seats for people with disabilities (including seats for wheel-chair users) with valid Disability Cards at the ticket office of the performing venues one hour prior to the performance on the date. Those who have made reservations but failed to show up for collection for three times shall be disqualified to make reservation for one year.
  4. For the programs organized by the NTCH, if there are tickets remaining unsold on the date of performance (excluding seats in the VIP box), those tickets will be available for request by people with disabilities and their company (one person only) during the opening hour of the ticket office until 30 minutes prior to the curtain-up. Please collect the free tickets at the ticket office of the NTCH with the original copy of Disability Cards.

Notice for 50 % off tickets

While purchasing tickets for programs organized by the NTCH, people with disabilities and their company (one person only) are entitled to 50% off the ticket price. Please show tickets and valid IDs when admitted to the auditorium.

The NTCH Ticketing System
www.artsticket.com.tw(QR CODE)
02-3393-8888

Tickets can also be purchased at retailing stores of FamilyMart, 7-11 ibon, and Hi-Life.

※ The organizer reserves the rights for changes and ultimate interpretation of all discounts and gifts arrangement.

Visit

Taipei MRT

The NTCH is located at the junction of the Xindian, Zhonghe and Xiaonanmen lines of the Taipei MRT. Take any of these lines to the MRT Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station and exit through Gate 5.

BUS

0 East, 15, 15 shuttle bus, 150,000 U.S. line, 20, 22, 22 shuttle bus, 38, 204, 204 shuttle bus, 208, 208 overhead line, 208 River two public housing base line, 214, 214 train , 236, 237, 249, 251, 252, 253, 297, 644, 648, 660, 670, 671, Xinyi trunk

PARKING

An underground parking garage with 699 spaces is located underneath the complex.
This parking garage is limited to automobiles only; motorcycles are not allowed.