Guling Street Avant-garde Theatre Introduction
During the Qing Dynasty, traveling between Taipei City and Guting Township would pass through Guling Street. During the Japanese colonial period, it was named Sakuma-cho in honor of the fifth governor-general, Sakuama Samata. After Japan's defeat, the Japanese who were forced to return sold books and calligraphy here to make money for their return, becoming the predecessors of the used book stalls on Guling Street. Later, people from the mainland came to Taiwan and emulated the Japanese by establishing street stalls selling used books and antiques, which helped spread the fame of Guling Street. The name Guling was adopted to replace Sakuma-cho, removing the colonial connotation. The entrance of the Guling Street Small Theatre faces northwest, built by the Japanese to monitor potential threats in the plains area, hence its architectural style differs from nearby houses. The Nationalist government continued to utilize this building for monitoring purposes, serving as a police station and symbolizing state power. After the Zhongzheng Second Precinct moved to Nanhai Road, this building became a performance space for the small theatre, developing into a cultural and artistic activity hub. The space is planned to include an office and service desk, promotional material area, experimental theatre, detention room, meeting room, cultural space, audiovisual room, and rehearsal room. Various events and performances are held here regularly, marking an important place in the history of small theatre development in Taiwan.
