When politics becomes art, and art becomes politics.

The co-founder and artistic director of  HaoxHsiao Troupe, Oscar HUANG presents Liar King as an independent project during his residency as an Artist-in-Residence at the National Taichung Theater. In this unique solo rock musical, the piece interweaves power, rhetoric, and the complexities of human nature. Through the story of a man who is seen as a “liar king,” it asks what price must be paid when, in the pursuit of power, one begins to blur the line between sincerity and falsehood.

With Taiwan’s 2026 national nine-in-one elections approaching, the moment calls for a story that resonates with the times. Within a tightly condensed duration, the work generates an intense dramatic momentum that unfolds at remarkable speed. On stage, Oscar HUANG appears as a modern-day troubadour, recounting the tale of a legendary figure from his own family who once entered politics, a “liar king” who even ran for mayor. Blending fact and fiction while shifting fluidly across time, he guides the audience through past and future through singing and acting. Taking on multiple roles himself, HUANG transforms the stage into a space where the proposition that art is politics and politics is art comes vividly to life, creating a work that is both provocatively topical and rich in artistic experimentation.

The production features multiple original songs and a dynamically shifting narrative structure, promising an exhilarating theatrical experience.After five years of development, HaoxHsiao Troupe’s Don’t Call Me Successful: The Return of a Prodigal Son achieved strong box office success in 2025. Building on this momentum, Oscar HUANG returns with Liar King, further articulating his distinctive artistic voice and expanding his creative scope.

☛The full performance is expected to be presented in the Black Box of Taichung National Theater in the summer of 2027. Stay tuned!

Playwright, Composer & Performer / Oscar HUANG
A resident artist of the National Taichung Theater (2025–2026), Oscar HUANG graduated from the Department of Theatre Arts at National Sun Yat-sen University and the Performance Program of the Graduate Institute of Theatre Arts and Playwriting at Taipei National University of the Arts. He is currently  the artistic director of HaoxHsiao Troupe. Apart from participating in the improvisational development and performance of all works within the troupe, Oscar HUANG also performed in the 2017 Kaohsiung Spring Arts Festival production Noises Off, where he also served as the acting coach. Furthermore, Oscar HUANG was involved in Che Zhi Theatre’s production The Last Day of A Condemned Man in 2017 and was part of the original cast of Tainaner Ensemble’s Chaos in 2005, returning for the 2015 Chaos: 10th Anniversary. His appearances in film and television productions include the SETTV’s Be with You.

Playwright / WANG Chien-jen
Graduated from the Drama and Theater Creation Program of Graduate Institute of Theatre Arts and Playwriting at Taipei National University of the Arts. WANG is the head of the Niceguy Studio and a resident playwright at HaoxHsiao Troupe. His writing spans across theater and film, specializing in works with a dark humor style. WANG has collaborated with various theater groups including Voleur du Feu Theatre, Tainaner Ensemble, How To Eat Faust, C MUSICAL, and BIU Theatre. Recent theater works include Tshun Hong Lau and Don’t Call Me Successful: The Return of a Prodigal Son by HaoxHsiao Troupe, A CIVIL SERVANT IS BORN by BIU Theatre, Once Upon a Time in Kaohsiung by Voleur du Feu Theatre, The Haunted Townhouse by Our Theatre’s The Farm of Plays project, and Hades Apocalypse by How To Eat Faust.

Composer/ CHANG Ching-yen
CHANG Ching-yen holds a master’s degree in Writing and Design for Musical Theater from Berklee NYC and completed graduate studies in Media Scoring at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. He is the resident composer of TOTAL Musical Theatre and an active freelance music creator. His work focuses on musical theater songwriting and orchestration as well as pop music production, with a particular affinity for hip hop–influenced styles.
Recent projects include TOTAL Musical Theatre productions Come (Again) Some of the Foober Tonight, Apprentice of the Demon Lord, and Everybody Wants to Make Musicals!; the circus musical productions 100 Reasons to Fly; Beginner; Punctum Creative’s Don’t, Jie-Ge!; the theme song for Lu-Lu at the Weiwuying Children’s Arts Festival; and HaoxHsiao Troupe’s Don’t Call Me Successful: The Return of a Prodigal Son.

Director / CHEN Yu-ju
CHEN Yu-ju graduated from the Department of Theatre Arts and the Graduate Institute of Theatre Arts at Taipei National University of the Arts, where she specialized in directing. She is currently an independent artist whose practice often engages with local environments and sound.
Drawing from close observation of everyday life and lived experience, her work explores the relationships between human beings and space, the body, and sound. Her practice spans theater, visual installation, and sound-based video, and her works have been repeatedly nominated for the Taishin Arts Award.