Shuttered classic movie theater transformed into karaoke, event space

Shuttered classic movie theater transformed into karaoke, event space

2026-03-19

After 60 years as northern Taiwan’s leading second-showing theater, the old Showtime in Taipei’s Gongguan area closed its doors last year when its lease expired, much to the dismay of nearby NTU and NTNU students. But now, new management has taken over and transformed the theater into a multifunctional entertainment space. Visitors can rent entire theaters out for karaoke, hold small concerts, or experience VR, finding creative new uses for this classic institution.

The ethereal band Night Keepers perform live in an intimate venue. But this technically isn’t a concert space. It’s a 60-year-old movie theater.

Inside this other theater, people are singing their hearts out, taking full advantage of the surround sound. Next door is something else entirely...

Wearing VR headsets, these fans are watching a voice actor festival. The venue used to be northern Taiwan’s leading second-showing cinema, the Showtime in Taipei’s Gongguan area. Last year, the 60-year-old theater closed with the expiration of its lease. Many were sad to see it go, but now it’s under creative new management, who envision a different kind of multifunctional entertainment space.

Dino Chun
Night Keepers leader
The experience was fantastic. You can set up a simple arrangement—like I just did with two or three instruments—or add more to create an immersive, surround-sound experience. It’s great either way.

Chen Tzu-jung
Company project manager
With the rise of streaming, people aren’t going to see movies very much anymore. So how can we utilize this space in a diverse way going forward? For example, we can invite stand-ups or YouTubers, even organize preview screenings. You could even hold product launches here.

The original theater setup was maintained with meticulous renovations—even the old broadcasting booth on the first floor is still there. Now the venue has reopened after a transformation, ready to host all kinds of events as a newly reimagined multifunctional space.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#theater #movietheater #cinema #Showtime #Gongguan #eventspace #karaoke #reinvented #performancevenue #musicvenue #VR #multifunctional

60年老戲院去年熄燈文創團體進駐"化身卡拉OK大包廂"

2026-03-19

曾經是北台灣知名的二輪片龍頭、台北公館「東南亞戲院」走過60年頭，因為租約到期，在去年熄燈號，讓不少台大、師大師生超惋惜，現在文創團體進駐後，華麗轉型為多功能展演空間，不僅化身成為卡拉OK大包廂、還能開小型演唱會、VR劇院等，開放場地租借，要讓老戲院空間活化再利用。

台灣療癒型樂團「守夜人」現場開唱，有如小型演唱會，這裡不是音樂廳，而是60年的老戲院。

在戲院裡，開趴歡唱，環繞音響有夠讚，或是換另外一個廳.

頭戴VR，看聲優祭，這裡曾經是北台灣知名的二輪片龍頭，台北公館「東南亞戲院」，走過60年頭，因租約到期，去年傳出熄燈號，讓不少在地人超惋惜，不過現在有文創團體進駐，宣布要轉型為多功能展演空間。

[[台灣療癒型樂團’’守夜人’’團長秦旭章]]
“體驗的感覺非常好，你來做簡配的樂器，比如說像我剛才，兩三個樂器，或是想要多接一點，然後讓這個聲音，有立體環繞的感覺，都很適合”

[[文創公司專案經理陳姿蓉]]
“現在串流媒體衝擊之下，大家可能不太進電影院了，那我們這個空間，接下來可以怎麼樣去，運用多元化的呈現，比如說我們可以邀請脫口秀，邀請Youtuber，甚至做到媒體試片的試映，然後也可以在這裡，辦精品的發表等等”

保留原本戲院的空間，再細部改造，還有一樓懷舊廣播室，現在華麗轉型，要開放場地租借，空間活化再利用。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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A teacher waves his hands while hopping up and down, doing a modified version of the “shaved ice dance.” But listen carefully to the words.

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