The Red House Theater (), often called Hong Lo Red Play House, Red Theater, Ximen Honglou or Ximen Red House in English, is a historic

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

in Ximending, Wanhua District,

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. The theater is located at 10 Chengdu Road.

History

Built in 1908 during Japanese rule and designed by

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Kondo Juro, the Red Theater was originally a market building, with its ground floor serving as a department store. The site of the Red Theatre was originally an unmarked graveyard. From 1945 onwards, the building was used as a theater, housing a troupe performing

Peking Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became ...

. The theater's many functions throughout the years signify Taiwan's sociopolitical hybridization. It was renovated due to a fire in the 2000s. From 2007 onwards, the Red Theater has been managed by the Taipei Culture Foundation, which uses the theater as a platform to promote the Cultural and Creative industries and revive Ximending's community. The Red House was listed as a Class III Historical Site in 1997. In 2016 the area was subject to an

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

attack.

Architecture

The Red House's unique architectural style is characterized by blended Western and Meiji era Japanese architectural patterns. The style of the building can be attributed to its architect's education, as Kondo Juro attended the Tokyo Imperial University, where he became cognizant of Western architectural styles. The Red House consists of an octagonal building, known as the Octagon Building, a Cruciform building and the adjacent square. In 2015, the Cruciform Building was renovated to restore Taiwan's first marketplace and grocery bazaar. The building is home to the Creative Boutique which provides local labels with aesthetic retail spaces. In 2016, the Octagon Building underwent the largest-scale renovation in the last 100 years.

Today

The Riverside Live House Corporation Ltd. took control of the horizontal section of the main Cruciform Building in September 2008. It hosts concerts by students and musicians from Thursday throughout the weekend. The building was converted into a theater in 2007, and has since become a popular part of the gay scene in the neighborhood. It is the site of the annual gay New Year’s Eve countdown and the Taipei Pride and the Mr. Gay World Taiwan pageant. It was the venue of the Wikimania 2007

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

, which included a short film festival. In 2017, the main lantern of the Taiwan Lantern Festival was displayed on the square of the Red House, attracting numerous international visitors.

Amenities

The ground floor houses a small cafe and a display on the history of the building, as well as several independent shops. The second-floor theater hosts regular live performances. The theater is within walking distance west from Ximen Station on the

Taipei Metro Taipei Metro (also known as Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and branded as Metro Taipei) is a rapid transit system operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation serving the capital Taipei and New Taipei City in Taiwan. It was the first rapi ...

References

External links