Cheng Tsung Feng Revives Taiwan’s Bamboo Theater Tradition
Located in Shima Park, Xiaobantian, Nantou, Bamboo Theater by Taiwanese artist Cheng Tsung FENG reinterprets the traditional bamboo theater, a once-common feature of temple festivals and community celebrations across Taiwan. Constructed from bamboo scaffolding, these temporary theaters historically served as cultural gathering points, combining craft, performance, and social exchange. Today, such structures have largely disappeared, replaced by modern frameworks and standardized materials.
In this project, FENG revisits the typology through contemporary stage design. The installation employs materials familiar to contemporary theater-making, including bamboo, wood, metal, rope, and tape, bridging historical craftsmanship with present-day construction techniques.
all images by FIXER Photographic Studio
Interwoven Bamboo Framework Shapes the theater in Nantou
The form of Bamboo Theater is defined by a radial arrangement of bamboo poles of varying lengths. Emerging from the central rear of the stage, the poles intersect and fan outward to create an open semicircular backdrop. Thick and slender bamboo members are interwoven and bound with rope, forming a net-like structure that recalls traditional scaffolding systems while maintaining structural clarity and visual rhythm. The woven density of the rear wall provides both support and texture, enhancing the depth and atmosphere of the performance space. At the front of the platform, bamboo poles are aligned in a linear formation, complemented by strips of white tape extending outward on the ground. This graphic treatment continues the stage’s radiating geometry, visually integrating the installation with its surroundings.
Beyond its symbolic reference, Bamboo Theater operates as an active public space. It accommodates community performances, cultural events, and everyday use, offering seating and shade within the park setting. By merging vernacular construction methods with contemporary materials and spatial language, artist Cheng Tsung FENG demonstrates how traditional building culture can adapt to modern contexts, preserving continuity while allowing for reinterpretation.
Bamboo Theater stands in Shima Park, Xiaobantian, Nantou, Taiwan
the installation reinterprets Taiwan’s disappearing tradition of bamboo theaters
the structure employs bamboo, wood, metal, rope, and tape in its construction
interwoven bamboo members create a net-like structural framework
a radial arrangement of bamboo poles defines the theater’s open form
bamboo poles extend outward in a fan-like pattern from the rear of the stage
rope bindings recall the logic of traditional bamboo scaffolding systems
traditional craftsmanship meets contemporary stage-building materials
