About

Jin Kwei Lo Puppetry Company

Jin Kwei Lo Puppetry Company is one of the few Taiwanese theatres with 3 generations. The founder Chiang Szu-mei is one of the first generations of female traditional palmar drama puppeteers, now still working in the field of puppet theatre in the age of 91. Her son Ko Chia-tsai is also an important figure in Taiwanese palmar drama theatre. He learnt palmar drama since childhood, and had worked as a palmar drama artist for over 50 years. The third generation Ko Shih-Hung and Ko Shih-Hua took up the art of palmar drama and participated in local and international art festivals while researching on world puppetry. They mean to pass on the delicate art of Taiwanese palmer drama and at the same time learn western puppetry, hoping to discover new possibilities of palmar drama in the clash of traditional and modern puppetry. In Recent years, their experiment on cross-field, cross-media performance had been well received and praised by the audience. The three generations are highly respected in traditional puppet art community in Taiwan for their effort to preserve and transform the art.

Invited to the International Puppet Theatre Festival

Invited to the International Puppet Theatre Festival

• Festival de Casteliers in Canada (Year 2023)
• Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes in France(Year 2019)
• Festival d'Avignon OFF in France(Year 2018)
• Huayi - Chinese Festival of Arts in Singapore(Year 2017)
• No Strings Attached Festival in Singapore (Year 2016)
• Columbia University Anthropology Museum Arts Festival(Year 2016)
• Festival de l'Imaginaire in France (Year 2015)
• Penang New Year Arts Festival, Malaysia(Year 2014)
• American Tour Puppet Show(Year 2011)
• Israel International Puppet Show Festival(Year 2011)
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the Solomon Islands and Noru exchange performances(Year 2011)
• American Tour Puppet Show(Year 2009)
• Singapore Arts Festival(Year 2008)
• Puppets in the Green Mountains festival(Year 2008)
• American Tour Puppet Show(Year 2007)
• Ishara International Puppet Festival in India(Year 2006)
• International Puppet Festival Hungary(Year 2004)
• The 18th International Puppet Theater Festival2003 in Dordrecht (Year 2003)
• The 12th Golden Dolphin - International Puppetry Festival in Bulgaria(Year 2002)
• Kobe Osaka Spring Festival in Japan(Year 2002)
• International Puppet Festival in Hungary(Year 2000)

International Report

2018 Festival d'Avignon includes 1583 shows, and The Potion of Reincarnation was widely covered by media. Taiwanese traditional Hand Puppets drama was introduced to the world. Following are reports and reviews on The Potion of Reincarnation in Festival d'Avignon.

Le Figaro
“Festival OFF d'Avignon was deeply infatuated by vivid Taiwamese palmar drama ” The Potion of Reincarnation ingeniously integrates Taiwanese drama and western puppet theatre. The mythical power is still vivid in the mind, and every little story becomes extremely lively. ( Jean Talabot 2018.07.15)

l'Humanité
“Taiwanese Puppet theatre enchants audience” The Potion of Reincarnation presents a magical, surprising live performance that merges tradition and modern concepts. (G. R. 2018.07.23)

La Provence
“The Potion of Reincarnation. We adore.” Through the form of puppetry, The Happy Puppetry Company present to us a wonderful poetic journey to the Far East. (Johan Barthélémy 2018.07.14)

Theater website Musical in Europe & Tous les Théâtres: In addition to puppetry skill, “The Potion of Reincarnation: A traditional Taiwanese female story” also showcases another face of Taiwanese culture. (Régis Gayraud, 2018-08-23)

Theater website Théâtre Passion: Strongly recommended!! The Potion of Reincarnation is a religious guide, a philosophical treatise, and a family story! A wonderful discovery, and a different kind of puppet theater. (Anne Delaleu, 2018-07-23)

German theater website kulturnetz’s recommendation: “The Potion of Reincarnation is a very impressive performance from a different culture that always leads audiences audience to smile merrily and marvel in admiration. (2018-07-16)

L'Oeil d'Olivier “Ko Chiang Szu-mei: progressive feminist puppeteer in the realm of Traditional Hand Puppets drama”

Theater website La Revue Marseillaise du Théâtre: “Meng Po’s Soup takes us to the extremely poetic realm of Taiwanese puppet theater. The creation of a family history is brewing: we are full of expectations for the next Avignon festival. (Diane Vandermolina, 2018-07-28)

Central News Agency: “Jin Kwei Lo Puppetry Company showcases in Festival d'Avignon, viewing Meng Po from a modern point of view.” While preserving tradition, it also incorporates contemporary thinking. The Potion of Reincarnation hopes to revisit the female character in a traditional story from a modern perspective. (Zeng Yizhen, 2018-07-15)