TAIWAN FESTIVAL: CHOU KUAN-JOU - TOMATO Digital Programme

CHOU KUAN-JOU: TOMATO

A playful, provocative and experimental exploration of gender issues, using live performance, simultaneously filmed video and a lot of tomatoes, Edinburgh Fringe Festival hit show Tomato comes to London.

23 Apr, 7:30pm 24 Apr, 7:30pm & 9pm

Running Time: 30min

Age Guidance: 16+

Created by dancer-choreographer Chou Kuan-Jou for herself and two other performers, Tomato is a truly unique experience. Lust and desire take centre stage in an audacious and absurdly funny expression of Chou’s ongoing interest in gender issues from a feminist perspective. Here, private manifestations of sexuality receive a public outing. Ideal for anyone curious about seriously tongue-in cheek, cross-art form exploration.

Throughout 2021, Tomato was toured in Taiwan by the Chiayi New Style Choreography Platform. The extended version was selected for Edinburgh Fringe Festival Taiwan Season in 2022, receiving critical acclaim, the Bobby award from Broadway Baby, and the LUSTRUM award from Summerhall.

“There’s something very clever about the sudden shifts of mood. Is this woman ’ s experience enjoyable, exploitative, funny, sinister? As in real life, it depends on an ultra-fine tuning of sensation and context”

The Guardian

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

Artist / Director / Choreographer

Chou Kuan-Jou Performers

Chou Kuan-Jou, Ng Chi Wai, Zito Tseng

Sound Designer

Liu Zhu Chi Producer

Yang Shu Han

Light Designer

Yang Yu Chieh

Video Design

Lo Yu Chen

Stage Manager

Yang Yu Chieh

Rehearsals Assistant

He Yan Yu

TAIWAN FESTIVAL

The Coronet Theatre proudly unveils the Taiwan Festival, marking the capital's inaugural celebration of contemporary arts and culture from Taiwan.

Over the course of 16 captivating days, the festival will showcase the talents of more than 30 contemporary visual artists, theatre-makers, dancers, and musicians from Taiwan, many of whom are making their UK debut. This unprecedented gathering of artistic voices will delve into a myriad of themes, including Taiwanese identity, post-colonial history, politics, and the complexities of human desire.

The festival's diverse program reflects Taiwan's rich cultural tapestry, shaped by a complex blend of historical influences and modern innovations. From its colonial past to its present-day achievements, Taiwan's journey is highlighted through the artistic expressions of its talented creators.

LONDON'S FIRST SHOWCASE OF TAIWANESE CULTURE FEATURING DANCE, MUSIC, VISUAL ART, PHYSICAL THEATRE, VR AND IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES

“I am delighted and honoured to witness the partnership between The Coronet Theatre, a renowned institution for contemporary arts in West London, and the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan. The Coronet Theatre has long been recognized for its unwavering dedication to showcasing the finest performing arts from around the globe.

The Taiwan Festival represents a significant milestone in this collaboration, as it continues The Coronet Theatre's tradition of presenting audiences with the best cultural experiences. By showcasing the richness and diversity of Taiwan's performing and installation arts scene, this joint effort not only enriches local audiences but also strengthens the cultural ties between Taiwan and the UK.

The immersive Taiwan programme, featuring dance, music, visual art, physical theatre, and VR experiences, promises to be a remarkable showcase of Taiwan's artistic talent. Furthermore, the two-week-long programme sets a remarkable precedent for future cultural exchanges and highlights Taiwan's role in diversifying the cultural landscape of the UK, as well as the power of collaboration in fostering mutual understanding and appreciation.

I extend my heartfelt wishes to The Coronet Theatre for a successful Taiwan Festival, and I hope that audiences will seize this exceptional opportunity to immerse themselves in the beauty and creativity of Taiwan's culture and arts.”

Representative Vincent Chin-Hsiang Yao Taipei Representative Office in the UK

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CHOU KUAN-JOU

Chou Kuan-Jou is an artist based in Taiwan. As a multi-dimensional performing energy and sensitivity carrier, she is a theater performer, choreographer, action designer, and dance instructor. In recent years, she has devoted herself to the artistic practice of the “Lust Body” employing the fluidity of sexuality as a strategy to loosen boundaries. Through tactile perception, she expands into a dance-based dialogical space, concentrating on the manifestation of bodily politics. Her practical methods include but are not limited to body practices, workshops, and performances.

She has been invited to international events such as CND Camping 2019, Tanzmesse 2022, Tjimur Arts Festival Residency 2022, and da:ns lab 2023 at Dance Nucleus. In 2021, she co-created the “Nyu Shu Movement” project with artist Chen Yi-Chin. This project was showcased at the SEA: Residency in the CLOUD in Taiwan, Loei Art Festival in Thailand, and the BUoY Art Festival in Tokyo. In 2022, her work “TOMATO” was selected for the Taiwan Season at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, receiving a five-star review and several awards, including The Bobby Award.

From Taiwan since 1959

RIVERBED THEATRE

Riverbed Theatre present their immersive VR experience All That Remains throughout the festival, alongside the world premiere of taking it down and putting it up, a multi-disciplinary theatre collage blending movement, dance, opera and visual art. A poetic meditation on the work of Marcel Duchamp.

WORKSHOPS

Alongside the Taiwan Festival we present a series of free workshops with world renowned installation artist Cheng-Tsung Feng, artist and choreographer Chou Kuan-Jou and award-winning experimental theatre group Riverbed Theatre.

CHENG-TSUNG FENG

A major site-specific bamboo installation and exhibition by stellar Taiwanese artist Cheng-Tsung Feng, encasing the Coronet Theatre’s historical façade and taking over the interior spaces with his dramatic and intricate structures.

THE CORONET THEATRE

“For me, the artist is at the heart of the programme, and I work closely with the makers of the pieces I bring to London, sometimes watching and encouraging them for years. In this increasingly fractious world, I feel strongly that one of the greatest uniting forces is the international language of and desire of all of us to engage with art, whether as a maker or spectator.

My goal is to fill the theatre spaces – the Main House, Print Room Studio, and bar – with diverse and wonderful arts from across the world, celebrating all its many forms and the audiences who enjoy them”

Anda Winters Artistic Director & CEO

The Coronet Theatre is a risk-taking, international arts venue in a restored and re-imagined Grade II listed building in Notting Hill. Both its programme and the building’s restoration are curated by Artistic Director, Anda Winters.

Our year-round multi-disciplinary programme of world-class drama, dance, music, poetry and visual arts in our main auditorium and studio space welcomes our own productions as well as visiting artists, including many UK and World Premieres.

We offer memorable and often unexpected experiences to audiences, while supporting established artists and nurturing new talent. Our mission is to entertain, educate and excite UK audiences with the art and cultures beyond our borders.

THE CORONET THEATRE TEAM

ArtisticDirector&CEO

AndaWinters

GeneralManager

AndyMcDonald

SeniorProducer

HettyShand

FinanceManager

AndrewMichel

Company&ProductionCoordinator

EmmaSmith Producer

DaphneSeale

AssistantProducer/PAtoArtistic Director

LolaGabellini

AssociateProducer

CathyLewis

DigitalMarketingOfficer

RiccardoTitoPescini

MarketingManager(Freelance)

ElliotHall

PressRepresentative

SharonKean

PoetryCoordinator

MarionManning

AudienceExperienceManager

GiudiDiGesaro

BoxOfficeAssistant

IvanaDieli

Duty Managers

Francesca Battinieri, Adrielle

Feliciano, Maria LisbergJonasson, Sofia Bitelli

Front of House Staff

Brian Maitland, Andreane

Rellou, Ewa Emini, Sua

Tsubokura-Aguiriano, Maya

Giulivi, Hazel Townsend, Daniel

Camou, Elias Giulivi, Kelsey

Moebius, Thea Gavanski,

Aishani Ghosh, Eugénie

Bakker, Emma Laird-Craig,

Daniel Timoney, Cooper

Tweedie, Dominika Jarečná, Hamza Mullick, Dong Ting

Huang

Taiwan Festival Production Assistants

Mika Shirahama

Arthur Pai

Trustees

Linda Bernhardt, Mike Fisher, Mimi Gilligan, Jane Quinn, Anda Winters, Bill Winters (Chair)