New York: Shinehouse Theatre is set to become the first Taiwanese group to perform at the SoHo Playhouse in New York, presenting “The Whisper of the Waves” from January 24 to February 2. The Taipei-based theater company’s participation is part of the SoHo Playhouse’s International Fringe Encore Series, which features exceptional plays from international festivals in an extended Off-Broadway run.

According to Focus Taiwan, Shinehouse Theatre caught the attention of talent scouts for the “Encore” series while performing at the 2024 Prague Fringe in the Czech Republic. The Ministry of Culture of Taiwan announced that Shinehouse Theatre outperformed competitors from the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, and India to be selected for this prestigious series.

“The Whisper of the Waves,” inspired by the global COVID-19 lockdowns beginning in 2020, examines themes of love, loneliness, and existence. The play explores the dynamics of interdependence and companionship through relationships between humans, plants, and animals, aiming to illustrate that solitude does not equate to loneliness, as described on the SoHo Playhouse’s website.

The production has been translated into English, Japanese, and Korean, and has been showcased at various festivals, including the Korean People Theater Festival in 2020, the Seoul International Environmental Theater Festival in 2021, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022.

The Taipei Cultural Center in New York hopes that Shinehouse Theatre’s debut at the SoHo Playhouse will increase the visibility of Taiwanese performing groups and lead to more international invitations.