Guling Street Avant-garde Theatre (牯嶺街小劇場) is located in Zhongzheng District of Taipei

Taipei

Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. It was originally constructed in 1906 to serve as a police station under the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. In 2002, a small theatre was opened and has hosted more than 8,000 guests.

History

The structure was originally built in 1906 in baroque style architecture. The building originally served as a Japanese military police station. After the war, the building was used by the Taipei City Government as the Police Department Crime Section. In 1958, the structure was rebuilt in the style of a Japanese brick building and converted into Taipei Police Zhongzheng District second branch. In 1995, the second branch moved out and the building was transferred to the control of Taipei City Government Information Services Department and scheduled to transform into a venue for small theatre performances. In 2001, the Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government renamed the building the “Guling St. Avant-Garde Theatre." Because the building's original Baroque-style design features especially thick walls and a central area without pillars, it is extremely suitable for small-scale theatrical performances.

Features

• The avant-garde theater, with the capacity for an audience of between 50 and 70 persons.
• The detention room: This area preserves the original appearance of the detention room from the theatre's previous incarnation as a police station.
• Rehearsal room: A perfect rehearsal space, with an area of over 1000 square feet (92.9 m²), and no obstructions from pillars.

External links

• http://www.glt.org.tw/en/main.php