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| editor's diary |
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December 15-17
Franz Kafka is sometimes baffling and sometimes horrifying but thoroughly mesmerizing, so it’s no wonder Theatre du Pif has adapted some of his works for the stage. In Nocturnal Vista, live music, stylised acting and dance invite you to a world where a man wakes up as a giant insect, a woman is eaten by a vulture from the feet up and people wait to enter doors watched over by ferocious guardians. So, what is your hell? Theatre du Pif’s Kafka stages at the HK Cultural Centre’s Studio Theatre at 8pm on Friday and Saturday, 3pm Saturday and 5pm Sunday. Tickets priced $160 are available at URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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December 15-17
Usually it would be difficult to find much in common between Mozart and the Waltz King, Johann Strauss, but the Marionettentheater Schloss Schönbrunn don’t seem to think they are such strangers. The puppeteers are bringing us a sumptuous show in two acts, the first based on Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and the second, called Johann Strauss and the Danube Maid, on a Mozart/Strauss connection. Of course, Strauss’s most famous waltz, The Blue Danube, will be a centrepiece. Puppets, Mozart and Strauss? This we have to see! It’s on at the Yuen Long Theatre Auditorium on December 15, HK City Hall Theatre on December 16 and 17 at 8pm and, on December 17, 3pm. Tickets are $90-$170 and are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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December 15-18
Love and disorientation, suicidal depression – it must be Sarah Kane. As part of their Contemporary Playwright Series, On and On Theatre Workshop are staging Kane’s last two plays, Crave and 4.48 Psychosis, at the Cattle Depot Theatre. Kane was a major force in British theatre until her suicide in 1999 at the age of 28, and her work is still popular today for its honesty and intense imagery. The plays will be performed in Cantonese at the Cattle Depot at 8pm. Tickets are $140 and $100 for students, from On and On Theatre Workshop, 2503 1630, www.onandon.org.hk
Starts December 18
Think Christmas, think fun fair as the World Carnival moves back into town for more months of family excitement. Dare to take yourself and the family to the Tamar Site where until March 25, 2007, you can all but pass out on the adrenaline rush of the ghost house, bumper cars and lots of stomach-churning rides. Or win a stuffed animal or three at the myriad skill-testing booths. Day tickets are available from 11am to 5pm and night tickets from 6pm to 11pm. Call the organizers at 2545 8093 for more details. |
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Until December 20
Oops, for a moment we thought Julie Andrews was in town, but The Joy of Music is not the story that made the von Trapp family famous. It is the Chopin Society of Hong Kong’s festival with the London Chamber Orchestra and winners from the Lady Kadoorie Masters and Teresa Li-Lai Winners series. Pianist Rachel Cheung will appear solo in a programme of Mozart, Liszt and, of course, Chopin, but other piano greats like Pascal Roge, Vladimir Krainev and Ilya Rashkovsky, as well as guitar maestro Alvaro Pierri, will be joining the LCO for concerts. The festival will be playing at the HK City Hall Concert Hall and the HK Cultural Centre Concert Hall. All shows start at 8pm, tickets are $150 per show, or $1,000 for a festival pass and are available at URBTIX, 2734 9009. See our listings for more details. |
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December 20-21
Christmas Russian style in an Asian city! Well, why not – the St. Petersburg Chamber Choir will be singing Christmas-themed works from Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and other Russian composers on December 20. In their Russian Programme on December 21, they
once again visit Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky but also look in on Shostakovich and new arrangements of Russian songs. The choir sings at Sha Tin Town Hall Auditorium on December 20 at 8pm and the HK City Hall Concert Hall on December 21 at the same time. Tickets are $100-$250 and are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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December 20-23
To Love U More – who wrote the music? Gotcha! if you said Celine Dion. No, it’s Andy Wong with his latest song and dance wooing routine – and you are the object of his amour. Andy trained in ballet and has worked with the HK Ballet and City Contemporary Dance Company. Now with dance, theatre and original music, how can he not have you just where he wants you – at the Fringe Club’s Fringe Theatre at 8pm just before Christmas. He’s so keen, he’s even giving us an additional show on December 23 at 3pm. Tickets are $150, $120 for members and available from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288. |
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Until December 26
It isn’t Christmas without The Nutcracker, and the HK Ballet have not let us down. The festive tale of Clara and her nutcracker (really a gorgeous prince), whom she must save from the evil Mouse King is one of Tchaikovsky’s most popular ballets. The HK Ballet say they’ve made it even better than previous years, so here’s a fairy tale you can fall in love with all over again. Be at the HK Cultural Centre Grand Theatre at 7.30pm or on December 16 and 17, 23-26 at 2:30pm. Tickets are $100-$300 and are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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December 29
The German Film Forum’s theme is ‘Falling in Love Again’, their milieu classic German films from the ’30s. One of the movies is Herbert Selpin’s Titanic, a black and white film highlighting the events of that fateful day in 1912 – John Cameron is said to have been so inspired by this film for his 1997 blockbuster, some scenes are almost identical. So you can guess how it fits into the Film Forum’s love theme! Catch the classic that inspired the classic at HK Film Archive’s Cinema at 7.30pm. Tickets are $30 and available at URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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December 28-31
It’s a fine life with The Hong Kong Chorus Society and Theatre Space – if you like popular musicals, that is. Yep, it’s that old chestnut Oliver! again but, hey, who can sit still when well-known favourites like Oom Pah Pah and You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two hit the stage? The New Philharmonia Orchestra are in the musical seats and you’re guaranteed to leave the theatre pleading, “Please sir, can I have some more?” Get your tickets for the Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium from URBTIX, 2734 9009. Dickens’ classic plays at 7.30pm all nights and December 30 and 31 at 2.30pm. Tickets are $180-$340. |
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Until January 1
Mmm – the poor theatre of Les Miserables? Sounds like a contradiction in terms if you know the Boublil Schönberg musical. But in 1997 Red Shift Theatre Co. staged their own version, basing Victor Hugo’s vast novel on the principles of poor theatre, with six actors and a flexible set of boxes on wheels. That in turn has inspired a Cantonese revival of the drama by the Chung Ying Theatre Company who have followed Jonathon Holloway’s Red Shift production. It is quite different from the large scale musical but the intimacy and reliance on a minimal cast to tell the epic tale is riveting. Jean Valjean, Inspector Javert and Cossette play out their story at the HK Cultural Centre’s Studio Theatre at 7:30pm and 2:30pm. Tickets are $120 to $200 and are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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Until January 21
Kudos for Kubrick – it’s a homage to one of the 20th century’s masters of cinema. Who of us devoted to celluloid doesn’t know A Clockwork Orange, 2001 A Space Odyssey, The Shining or Full Metal Jacket? All 12 of Kubrick’s features will be screened in the Stanley Kubrick Odyssey Film Festival, as well as a documentary made by his brother-in-law about the man and his work. The reels will be rolling at broadway cinematheque, palace ifc cinema and broadway cyberport. See our listings for details of show times, venues and prices. |
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