The Trio Hall

Nothing is sacred in this eccentric romp of a revue. Stalin dances with Chiang Kai-shek, Mao with a roller-skating Hitler in 80s attire, not to mention Churchill sporting a bathing costume. This contest of dictators is flashy, flamboyant, Hegelian-dialectical and global – a provocative pop re-enactment of Cold War worlds! A satire that screams a loud No to chauvinism and colonialism, told here from the perspective of the East Asian island nation of Taiwan (with vague side glances at the near future). Its mastermind: the exceptional artist Su Hui-yu, who has turned his eponymous 2023 performance at MOCA Taipei into a very special feature film debut oozing with boundless creativity. While his “reshooting” short film series resurrected the spirit of Taiwanese film history – mostly from the martial law era – The Trio Hall draws us into the orbit of two visual cultures at the ultimate crossroads of entertainment, escapism and ideology: the romances of the ‘Three Hall’ cinema of the 60s and 70s (made famous by Chiung Yao & Co) and the TV and variety shows of the 80s. What the hell is going on, asks The Trio Hall, and answers with the very best of everything!