Shay Mace
Performers from the Taiwanese theatre scene first took part in Prague Fringe back in 2024, when Shinehouse Theatre brought their spellbinding kaleidoscope into climate change, queerness, and existentialism in The Whisper of the Waves to be part of the festival. Back then, I called it “a truly mesmerising creation” and awarded it five stars from Binge Fringe. The production has since gone on to tour arts festivals across the world, and Shinehouse are returning to the Czech capital next week with a new production – this time, they’ve brought friends!
Shinehouse will bring their new project inspired by Auguste Rodin’s The Gates of Hell, through blending contemporary dance and theatre, to explore the intentions behind the text and sculpture through a dialogue of heterogeneous bodies. The piece, entitled The Rodin Project: Lady Macbeth (26th-29th) features Emiko Agatsuma, experienced in Japanese Butoh; Yu-Chiao Chen, a professional dancer; and Jia-Yi Chen, a professional theatre actor.
Shinehouse told Binge Fringe: “I still remember seeing Auguste Rodin’s The Gates of Hell in Ueno, Tokyo, Japan. The accompanying description suggested that the sins depicted in the gates were all connected to women. Around that same time, my ninety-year-old grandmother passed away, and reflecting on the course of her life became the starting point for the creation of this work.”
Joining Shinehouse in exploring the theatrical form through dance is critically-acclaimed Dance with Dementia (25-26th & 29th), which takes inspiration from performer Suzanne Huen’s mother’s journey with dementia, aiming to paint a vivid portrait of a woman’s fading memories and enduring hope in a solitary room. The show has already toured Atlanta Fringe in the United States and Nelson Fringe in New Zealand and won awards at each festival.
Suzanne told Binge Fringe: “The decision to bring my mother’s story to the stage stems from a deep desire to transform those fragmented and often painful experiences into something healing and meaningful. As I witnessed my mother battling cognitive impairment, I discovered that words were gradually losing their power. In their place emerged a new language of communication—one built on gestures, eye contact, and subtle touches.”
“Through the medium of theatre, I hope to capture the enduring glow of love and humanity that persists amid the chaos and struggle, rather than focusing solely on the sense of loss caused by the disease. This work serves as a tribute to my mother, and as an effort to challenge society’s fear of this condition—revealing the indelible resilience and dignity that remain in life even after memories have faded.”
Completing the trio, Lin Lu-Chieh also brings a genre-beaking autobiographical show in Dazed and Confused (26th-27th & 30th), matching sleight-of-hand magic with a touching coming of age story about the sometimes painful and often humorous process of growing up.
Lu told Binge Fringe: “In all my production, the magic carries a bigger meaning than the tricks themselves. While the sense of wonder is certainly there, but anyone who sees the show will notice that every piece of magic or tricks are meticulously tailor-made for the narrative. To this day, I still find this process incredibly difficult; it requires a vast amount of experimentation and a massive mental database to filter through and decide which effect aligns perfectly with the script and the flow of a solo performance.”
Prague Fringe 2026 is the 25th edition of the festival, and will run from May 22nd – 30th at venues across Malá Strana in the Czech capital. Find out more and book your tickets using the Prague Fringe Online Box Office.
