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| editor's diary |
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May 17 to 19
Four is a number superstitious Hong Kongers avoid like the plague. The All Theatre Company obviously has few qualms with that numeral, though – in its Mask 44 – The Ritual of Bloodline, local performer Hoi Chiu appears in four different multi-media performances geared at exploring human emotions, during which he will play a total of 44 roles while swapping between an equal number of hand-made masks! The May 17 to 19 evening shows start at 8pm while the May 19 matinee starts at 3pm over at the Fringe Club’s Fringe Studio. Tickets are $99 for members, students and seniors, and $120 for others, from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288. |
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To May 18
Richard Mason’s The World of Suzie Wong first saw the light of day as a book four decades ago. Adapted for the silver and small screens, and other performing arts forms, the tale also spawned indigenous Hong Kong responses like the Shaw Brothers’ My Name Ain’t Suzie (1985). Now Red Room Productions’ The Real Suzie: A Tribute to Suzie Wong, Sex Workers in Hong Kong updates the story in a play whose two main characters are an artist (and native English teacher) and a sex worker: it is all very contemporary HK with monologues and sketches on the city’s sex industry. The show runs until May 18 at the Fringe Theatre. Tickets are $180 for members, students and seniors, and $220 for others, from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288. |
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May 19 and 20
Who says charity is dead? Not as long as we have fund-raising events like the Dramatic English Educational Repertory’s (DEER) production of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum’s endearing tale of Dorothy and her dog Toto who are blown to the magical land of Oz by a tornado is an international favourite whose signature tune, Over the Rainbow, is beloved the world over. The cowardly lion, heartless tin man and brainless scarecrow all join Dorothy and Toto at the Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium on May 19 and 20 in a quest to find the wonderful Wizard of Oz. Be there at 7:30pm on both nights or at 2:30pm on May 20. Ticket prices start at $80 for this Children’s Cancer Foundation fundraiser, but those feeling especially generous can go for the VIP $980 maximum. The tickets are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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May 21 to 26
Some say the Cheung Chau Bun Festival is held every year to placate the ghosts of the victims of pirates who used the dumbbell-shaped island as their lair, while others maintain it a commemorates the liberation of the island’s residents from a plague some 200 years ago. What pretty much everyone is agreed on, though, is that it’s a time for one big party! Officially the festivities go from May 21 to 26, with a Chinese Opera performance every night to May 28. But the festival’s undoubted highlight will be a spectacular parade from 2-4pm and a midnight ‘bun snatching’ competition on 24 May centred around the Pak Tai Temple Plaza and adjacent Football Court. Go to www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/ heritage/festivals/images/bun_more.pdf for programme details and more. |
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May 21 to June 10
Roald Dahl’s wickedly funny The Witches and James and the Giant Peach; children’s classic Where the Wild Things Are; a theatrical adaptation of Shel Silverstein’s well-loved A Light in the Attic; a sign language, movement and mime performance of A Journey into the World of Visual Wonders by the Theatre of the Silence – these are just a few of the many performances by hundreds of new and youthful thespian talents (some as young as four) in this year’s Faust Festival. Now in its seventh year, this feast of family entertainment boasts at least two performances a day between May 21 and June 3, before catching its breath for a day on June 4 and then continuing headlong until June 10. All shows are at the Hong Kong Arts Centre (McAulay Studio). Standard tickets are priced at $70, concessions at $60. Available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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May 22 and 23
Le French May continues deep into the month with inventive cultural offerings like Ballet Biarritz’s award-winning The Creatures. Drawing inspiration from the notion that the first man was born to dance, this ambitious work sets both the biblical Genesis and the history of ballet to music by Ludwig van Beethoven and choreography by Thierry Malandain. Not only God possesses sublime creative talents… The May 22 and 23 shows commence at 8:15pm at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. Tickets from $100 to $400 are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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May 23 and 24
“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet…” If only Rudyard Kipling could be here to witness Tao of the Heart, the Sri Shakti Academy’s Dance of Duality in which opposites merge and balance to find the One Truth, the Tao. On May 23 and 24, 18 performers (including Shri Shakti Academy founders Neesha Jhaveri and Priyadarshini Ghosh Shome, and Felah-Mengus Flamenco Studio’s Rico Cheung) will blend East and West, classical and contemporary, Indian dance with Spanish flamenco, Chinese dance with Tai Chi, as they reach out for sublimity. The 75-minute performances start at 8pm on both nights at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre Theatre. Tickets are $250 and $150 from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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Thursday May 24
The eighth day of the fourth lunar month is the birthday of the Buddha and the day the Cheung Chau Bun Festival reaches its peak. It also happens to be the birthday of Tam Kung, a Taoist sea deity worshipped in Hong Kong and Macau. With a reputation for being able to control and accurately forecast the weather, Tam Kung has a following among seafarers and a temple in his honour in the former fishing village of Shau Kei Wan. On May 24, head over to the eastern end of Hong Kong Island for the annual Tam Kung procession by local residents, which includes unicorn, lion and dragon dancing. |
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May 25 to 27
Last month, the Rugby Sevens came to town. This month, the sporting focus turns to football and, in particular, the HKFC Philips Lighting International Soccer Sevens Tournament. England’s Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, Holland’s PSV Eindhoven, Scotland’s Glasgow Celtic and South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs are among the 32 teams that will be represented at the seven-a-side tournament. The Hong Kong Football Club is the place to catch the action from 6pm to 8:30pm on May 25, 8am to 8pm on May 26 and 8:30am to 7pm on May 27. Entry on May 25 is free but passes are required for May 26 and 27. Costing $200, they are available from
reception at the Hong Kong Football Club, 2830 9500. For further enquiries,
call 3579 8933. |
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May 27
Dominique Moralez might be one of the most dazzling young tenors on the international opera scene, but that hasn’t stopped him writing and producing a rock opera – having formed his own rock orchestra – directing a movie and contemplating writing a book. In between all of that he will join HKAPA’s Arièle Zanini for a concert of French melodies from the 19th and 20th centuries on the night of May 27 as part of Le French May. The concert starts at 7:30pm at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Tickets are HK$150 and $250 and are available from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288. |
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