“Saltimbanco” (藝界人生) — the classic Cirque du Soleil performance, made its Taiwan debut Wednesday in Kaohsiung, and will carry on in Taipei on Sept. 5. A crew of over 90 people arrived in Kaohsiung last weekend, including 50 artists from 21 countries. Taiwan is the last stop on their Asia tour before returning to Montreal to close the show.

Liu Xiaoqing (劉曉慶), one of mainland China's most influential actresses, is in Taipei to play the role of a legendary courtesan in the late Qing Dynasty (1644~1912). Directed by Tian Qinxin (田沁鑫), “Fenghua Juedai” (風華絕代) recounts Sai Jinhua's (賽金花) life from her mid 20s to late 30s, bringing to the stage the controversial figure of Chinese history, whose story is rarely told in theater.

Four young Taiwanese dancers will be joining the locally initiated New Choreographer Project to showcase their creativity and unique body movements in front of a home crowd next month.

A new version of U Theatre's (優人神鼓) widely popular work “Blooming Enlightenment” (花蕊渡河) will be back on stage next month, featuring a younger generation of U Theatre members in the hope of bringing youthful inspiration to the work, the world-renowned performance troupe announced yesterday.

Cast and crew of Theatre de la Sardine looked good in jeans last Wednesday, in a run-through rehearsal for their Valentine's Day special, “An Italian Straw Hat” (帽似真愛).

Atraditional foot massage therapist scored TV host Sam Tseng (曾國城) just 70 out of 100 in physical fitness on Monday — barely a passing grade.

Marvin Hamlisch, the composer behind a string of Broadway and Hollywood hits including “A Chorus Line,” “The Way We Were” and “The Sting,” has died, his publicist said Tuesday. He was 68.

The Bayreuth Festival, an annual month-long celebration of Richard Wagner, opens Wednesday, with its new production of “The Flying Dutchman” engulfed in scandal even before the curtain rises.

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's stunning fall from grace will be presented on a Paris stage this week in a play focusing on his sex scandals.

Brian Dewhurst always knew he would be a circus act.