Feature Articles

A TALE OF JEALOUSY, SUSPICION AND MURDER

A TALE OF JEALOUSY, SUSPICION AND MURDER

The play We Are Gay was expected to debut in the 2020 Hong Kong Arts Festival but had to be cancelled due to the outbreak of the pandemic. In its 2022 premiere, the work is presented as a newly rehearsed and designed version. ...

WHEN DANCE MEETS SONG: A DIPTYQUE OF FEMALE VOICES

WHEN DANCE MEETS SONG: A DIPTYQUE OF FEMALE VOICES

The theme of women battling adversity resounds through Heart of Coral and Women Like Us, two chamber operas previously staged at the Hong Kong Arts Festival, in 2013 and 2021 respectively. The two operas tell the stories of three women who strive in different times and circumstances, but whose lives are each shaped by the conflicts between love and fate. At the 50th HKAF.......

<i>Women Like Us</i> and <i>Journey to the West Rewind</i>: Attempts at Writing New Life

Women Like Us and Journey to the West Rewind: Attempts at Writing New Life

When representing literature in the performing arts, artists demonstrate different interpretations and expressions, while the meanings of works change with time. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Women Like Us and Journey to the West Rewind were deferred until the 49th Hong Kong Arts Festival....

Towards a New Language of Theatre

Towards a New Language of Theatre

In a year when a previously unknown virus spread like wildfire across the globe, theatre was forced to swiftly adapt to a new reality, branching out into new formats and production means. The result has been an enrichment of theatrical language by a raft of new insights and emotional responses....

The Four Bandits Musical

The Four Bandits Musical

Two years ago, the Hong Kong Arts Festival began commissioning local artists to create a musical about the young Sun Yat-sen. First, they brought composer Peter Kam on board, then director Eugene Ma, playwright Sunny Chan and lyricist Chris Shum joined the team, and the Yat-sen creative quartet began to take shape....

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Zen Scriptures and Dismal Duets <br>New Symbolism in Yip Siu-tak’s adaptation of <i>A Thorn Hairpin</i>

The titular hairpin of the nanxi classic A Thorn Hairpin symbolises fidelity amidst poverty, a major theme of the story. Although a young, wealthy man proposes marriage to the leading lady with a golden hairpin, a poor scholar wins her heart with a thorn one....

Behind the Mirror: Ivo van Hove on Theatre and Healing

Belgian theatre director Ivo van Hove has been on many theatre enthusiasts’ radar since his production of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge hit at the Young Vic in 2015. Although I was aware of that work, my own road to becoming a serious fan began more recently....

Artists in the Time of Social Distancing: Terri Lyne Carrington

1. How would you describe your daily life in the time of self-isolation? My daily life has been busier in self-isolation than it was before. I have more meetings and correspondences, and the projects that I’m working on take up more time, so it’s challenging and sometimes stressful. ...

Artists in the Time of Social Distancing: Rudresh Mahanthappa

1. How would you describe your daily life in the time of self-isolation? I think that the word "unbalanced" sums it up. My kids are quite young: 7 1/2 and almost 4. In many ways, it has been amazing to spend this much time with them. However, I have had little time to do anything else, including making or even thinking about music. There is hardly ever a moment of silence in our household outside ...

Fly Higher: Charlie Parker @ 100 Takes Off

Miles Davis once said that he could encapsulate the history of jazz in just four words “Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker”. ...