TPAC Select: Łukasz Twarkowski "Respublika"

2025.1.6 (一) 12:00 TPAC Member pre-sale

2025.1.13 (一) 12:00 Tickets can be purchased

Dear Audience,

Due to coordination with the international performing team, the Republic x Pawnshop rave party originally scheduled for Sunday, June 8, 2025, will now take place on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at 11:50 PM.

For e-ticket holders: Your tickets will be automatically updated to reflect the new performance time, and no further action is required.
For physical ticket holders: You may use your original ticket to enter the event directly.

If you are unable to attend the event due to this schedule change, you may request a full refund via the Respublika program's ticketing page. Refunds will be accepted from now until Friday, February 14, 2025.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding.

“I found absolute freedom in rave.”  -- Łukasz Twarkowski 

Respublika is a commotion, a coup, a sharp sword, the whisper of the forest and tsunami in techno music, the half-dismantled film studio set, the self-rotation of a theatre, the ambition to build a town out of thin air, the realm for the exiles, and the machine of reflecting audience’s inner desire.

Taipei Performing Arts Center will connect its Grand Theater and Blue Box to form the massive-scale Super Theater for the independent nation built by Łukasz Twarkowski, who leads a band of artists and mobilizes over a hundred of people to establish the “Respublika” (republic) which Plato would have endeavored to expel.  The concept comes from “The Pavlov Republic” in the late 18th Century, where its founder, a catholic priest, gathers 800 peasants to form a community with its own army, currency, theatre, school, and some kind of medical healthcare system.  As a utopia unmaterialized, “The Pavlov Republic” still provides an admirable inspiration.   

When humans face pandemic threats, with assurance abolished and authority invalidated, life becomes more suspicious than ever and suddenly finds it in a matrix-like world of flooded images.  The pursuit of freedom thus brings more suffering.  Since when have we lived in a future which has already happened?  

Łukasz continues with the question: what will happen if we can forget about work for a whole year? 

For the founding of Respublika, Łukasz interviewed over a hundred of artists from theatres across Europe.  The final group, 15 people in total, included actors, composers, set designers, costume designers, playwrights and DJs, who joined Łukasz in this experimental project to create an isolated community in a Lithuanian forest.  Eventually, the experiment failed with the dissolution of the community; and another few years later, since the world became increasingly chaotic, the community members finally realized the significance of what they experienced during that time, so they agreed to produce a stage performance to conclude a possible future for humans and its existential purpose. 

Respublika builds a microscopic utopia at Super Theatre, where you can find kitchen, bar, sauna, New Orleans trailer, spaceship, spectator stand, and its main stage consisting of a DJ panel and dance floor.   The 6-hour immersive experience invites audience to go through its three parts from purely spectators to citizens of Respublika.  The first part adopts the form of an exhibition, allowing visitors free access to the whole space so they can know better about the geographical layout of Respublika.  The second part is a combination of live performance and video installation.  Visitors are given two choices: to watch it on the big screen or to experience it in the room.  When the framework is completely taken down, the audience will find themselves in the “third space,” a mixture of screens and rooms, characterized with a strange feeling of the juxtaposition of virtual illusion and reality. 

The third part is a grand party: with the standing walls fully dismantled and neon lights descending, Respublika hands the scepter of storytelling back to the audience to finish the “I want" sentence: I want faith.  I want freedom.  I want to dream.  I want love.  I want the tiny hope at the bottom of Pandora’s box.  DJs, actors, and the audience begin to dance and move instinctively.  The durational dance seems to produce nothing and goes against the values of an effort-driven capitalist society.  However, your hard work does not always bring you what you desire, so people choose to rave as a resistance to the current helpless situation and travel back to the ancient fantasy.  

The artist describes the future world in past tense as if it has already happened, connecting to the immense dream-realm via techno, rave, and radio art.  The DJs and performers play the music nonstop to lure those trapped in reality, while the all-night rave party makes Respublika a temporary shelter.     

The paradise in the dream will eventually reach reality, turning the most splendid Garden of Eden into hell.  The melody of Respublika stops playing before it becomes distorted.  At that moment, we are in an absolute trance to enjoy absolute freedom.  

《Respublika》 x Pawnshop Rave Party
 

✶ Taipei Performing Arts Center x Taipei’s Electronic Music Landmark

✶ A groundbreaking collaboration: Pawnshop’s top DJs ignite the stage @ Super Theater

✶ Late Sunday night expands the core themes of 《Respublika》: Rave, Techno, and an electrifying party

On June 7, 2025 (Saturday), following the final performance, Taipei’s electronic music landmark Pawnshop takes over for the 《Respublika》 After Party from 23:50. Continuing the immersive dreamscape of 《Respublika》, this exceptional three-hour DJ set invites all Ravers to join an extraordinary rave celebration. Hypnotic electronic beats will radiate from the DJ booth, unleashing the resonant power of sharp, cold electronic music as the revelry carries on into the early hours.

The main stage will transform into a massive dance floor, accommodating more than a thousand partygoers. Dance wildly, jump freely, and move without restraint! Dull dictators hate dancing, but the joy sparked by music and movement fuels the engine of every social movement and revolution. It empowers people to persist with unwavering determination. Late-night 《Respublika》 will be a sanctuary for all Ravers to keep the energy alive.

Special Bundle Offer
《Respublika》 x Pawnshop Rave Party Limited Edition Bundle: Starting Monday, January 13, 2025, at 12:00 PM, purchase tickets to any 《Respublika》 performance + entry to the June 7, 23:50 Start (Saturday) Pawnshop Rave Party for a special price of NT$3,500. Limited to 500 bundles—don’t miss out!

Pawnshop is dedicated to showcasing the ever-evolving underground electronic music scene in Taipei, Taiwan, embodying creativity, artistry, subversion, rebellion, excitement, and euphoria. With a carefully crafted immersive sound system and fresh sounds from both local and international DJs, Pawnshop actively creates a diverse, dynamic space filled with endless possibilities.

In addition, Pawnshop continually explores the limitless potential of nightlife entertainment. From costume or LGBTQ+ parties to themed nights, live performances, workshops, lectures, and exhibitions, it has fostered a vibrant community of dance floor enthusiasts, constantly redefining the open landscape of club culture.