Arts of Hong Kong: 52nd Hong Kong Arts Festival brings 45 international and local programmes to the stage

The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) has announced the details of the upcoming 52nd HKAF in February and March 2024, featuring more than 1,400 outstanding international and local artists in over 150 performances of 45 programmes, and more than 350 PLUS, outreach and education events. The 52nd HKAF opens officially on 22 February 2024, with the Bayerische Staatsoper’s performance of Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss, … Continue reading Arts of Hong Kong: 52nd Hong Kong Arts Festival brings 45 international and local programmes to the stage

★★★☆☆ Review: Here Where You Were by Matter.Less

A forum theatre primer on how to begin processing suicide. The forum theatre format has long been used as a form of empowerment, giving audience members the power of choice to change the narrative of a play when invited to step in and make major decisions. Often, this has been used to address key social issues, and give ordinary viewers the realisation that they do … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Here Where You Were by Matter.Less

Huayi 2024: An Interview with choreographer Chou Shu-yi on Taiwan-Singapore collaboration ‘Dance a Dance from My Body’

For a co-production that’s been engineered by two of the biggest arts centres in their respective cities, the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts Weiwuying, choreographer Chou Shu-yi has been given plenty of free rein to explore a rather unique collaborative style of work for his upcoming production Dance a Dance from My Body, which makes its premiere … Continue reading Huayi 2024: An Interview with choreographer Chou Shu-yi on Taiwan-Singapore collaboration ‘Dance a Dance from My Body’

Huayi 2024: Transplant by The Finger Players and RUDRA (Preview)

For this edition of Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts, local theatre company The Finger Players is joining forces with Vedic metal band RUDRA to present new show Transplant. Inspired by classic Chinese anthology Liaozhai (Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio), Transplant follows a dysfunctional family of four, comprising a father vehemently denying his own infidelity; an erudite yet loquacious old mother confined to her … Continue reading Huayi 2024: Transplant by The Finger Players and RUDRA (Preview)

Huayi 2024: An Interview with Shaman Tearoom on sound healing in their work ‘Microcosm – a sonic tea ceremony’

Amidst the noisy Chinese New Year celebrations, it becomes more important than ever to find some time to relax and take stock of life and all that’s going on. Sometimes, it’s akin to tuning an instrument, and finding the right note, something that Malaysian multidisciplinary duo Aiwei Foo and Kent Lee are happy to help out with in their Shaman Tearoom project. Performing their show … Continue reading Huayi 2024: An Interview with Shaman Tearoom on sound healing in their work ‘Microcosm – a sonic tea ceremony’

Huayi 2024: An Interview with director Mathias Woo on epic Hong Kong detective play ’13·67′

Hong Kong is a city that never sleeps, characterised by sweeping change, a personality that’s constantly shifting, and in essence, never sitting still as it transforms with each successive generation. If it’s one thing Hong Kong is also known for, is its penchant for cop dramas, and bringing both those ideas together is theatremaker Mathias Ho, co-artistic director of experimental theatre company Zuni Icosahedron, in … Continue reading Huayi 2024: An Interview with director Mathias Woo on epic Hong Kong detective play ’13·67′

Huayi 2024: An Interview with director Nelson Chia and actress Sharon Au on Nine Years Theatre’s ‘Everything For You’

In 2022, Nine Years Theatre (NYT) presented original production Between Me And You at the Esplanade Theatre, as part of that year’s annual Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts. The project was probably one of NYT’s most ambitious productions to date, with a massive cast on a huge stage, a deeply emotional and sprawling script that required audiences to invest in an entire family’s backstory, … Continue reading Huayi 2024: An Interview with director Nelson Chia and actress Sharon Au on Nine Years Theatre’s ‘Everything For You’

Preview: Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts 2024 by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

As 2024 comes around, so does Chinese New Year, as well as the Esplanade’s annual Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts. As a time of gathering for families and loved ones, Huayi has also been planned to achieve that and encapsulate those values, to share an arts experience with friends and family, as it returns this February. On the contemporary theatre front, look out for Hong … Continue reading Preview: Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts 2024 by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

★★☆☆☆ Review: Thom Paine (Based on Nothing) by Edith Podesta, Yarra Ileto, and NAFA

Expansion of one-man show into ensemble piece becomes confusing mess. When Thom Pain (based on nothing) premiered in 2004, the one-man show received rave reviews and was described to be unlike anything else at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that year. It’s a rather odd but endearing sounding script, wherein the long-suffering protagonist recounts the story of a bee sting, a boy with a dog that … Continue reading ★★☆☆☆ Review: Thom Paine (Based on Nothing) by Edith Podesta, Yarra Ileto, and NAFA

★★★★★ Review: SAME SAME by Dame de Pic/Cie Karine Ponties & Temporary Collective

But different. Modern day office work can be a slog – from the day to day commute to the facetious performance we put on in front of our colleagues, to the droll routines and the pressure of climbing the corporate ladder. As a result, burnout is almost always lurking around the corner, threatening to rear its head and bring us crashing down. But perhaps there … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: SAME SAME by Dame de Pic/Cie Karine Ponties & Temporary Collective