April 30-May 3
Whether you see Tats Lau as the music genius of the Tat Ming Pair, the influential band of the ’80s, or the off-beat and hilarious comedy actor in Stephen Chow’s Forbidden City Cop, God of Cookery and Lawyer, Lawyer in the ’90s may depend on how old you are. But for today’s audiences, Lau may become better known as the most recent addition to his CV: a theatre actor. Brought to the city by the Shu Ning Presentation Unit, The Year of Clown is a 100-minute comedy on the absurdity of today’s life: It is an outlet for our frustration in the face of the financial tsunami, director Hui Shu Ning says. Also starring TV host Kay Ho and with an original score by award-winning composer Peter Kam, The Year of Clown is the sixth production of the Pilgrim’s Progress series. The show will run from April 30-May 3 at 8pm and May 1-3 at 3pm at the HK Arts Centre Shouson Theatre. Tickets are $199 and $169 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

May 2
The Asian Five Nations tournament showcases the competitive standard of fifteen-a-side rugby in this part of the world. Now in its second year the Asian Five Nations is quite in-appropriately titled - featuring as it does 26 nations. Seventeen countries comprise the top four divisions and there are three regional sections with another nine countries. With promotion and relegation between the divisions this is perhaps the first global league for any sport ever. This is sporting competition on the grand global scale country v country.

Hong Kong, fourth place in the ‘Premier Division’ last year, face hard away matches against Korea (9 May) and Kazakhstan (24 May). The first home game will be a tough match against last years Champions Japan on 2 May – kick-off 4pm at HK Football Club. The second home game is against Singapore on the 16 May again a 4pm kick-off at HK Football Club. For ticket enquiries, contact the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, tel: 2504 8311, www.hkrugby.com.

May 3 and 4
With over 460 years of history, the Staatskapelle Dresden orchestra has been under the directorship of many music greats, most remarkably Richard Wagner, who called the ensemble his ‘miraculous harp’. The orchestra also worked closely with Richard Strauss for over six decades and nine of his operas were premiered in Dresden. For the orchestra’s coming visit to HK, on May 3 they revisit Strauss with a programme of Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, Burleske in D Minor for Piano and Orchestra and Also Sprach Zarathustra. Then on May 4, renowned pianist Emanuel Ax joins the orchestra for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 3 in a programme that also includes Weber’s Oberon Overture and Brahms’ Symphony No 4. For both concerts, Fabio Luisi conducts in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall from 8pm. Tickets are $1,050, $880, $680, $460, $250 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

May 6-27
For a little French humour, you can hardly miss with Serious Playtime: The Modern World of Jacques Tati, a comprehensive retrospective of the writer-actor-director and French king of comedy from the 1950s to the ’70s. Tati is commonly remembered as M Hulot, a character he created in his early work Mr Hulot’s Holiday (1953) – tall, with a trench coat, pipe and some quirky mannerisms, Hulot became a beloved icon for that generation. The retrospective will screen all six of Tati’s feature films, including Mr Hulot’s Holiday, My Uncle (1958) and PlayTime (1967), as well as three of his short films. The screenings at Broadway Cinematheque and Palace IFC run from May 6-27. Tickets are $60 at Broadway Cinematheque and $75 at IFC. For a full schedule, visit
www.cinema.com.hk.

May 8-10
Alice in Wakeupland may sound a bit weird, but it could be one of the most poetic musical theatre shows we have seen in Hong Kong. Inspired by actor Ah Tsui’s illustrations of 10 classic fairytale characters in today’s metropolitan city, this latest work by director Allen Ma and Trinity Theatre explores how Alice rediscovers the sweetness of life through her encounters with a variety of personalities. The show will run from May 8-10 at 8pm and May 9-10 at 3pm in the Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre Theatre. Tickets are $160 and $110 from URBTIX, 2734 9009. (In Cantonese)

May 8-10, 13-16
It took Kay Tse three years to rise from being an independent singer to the hottest pop artist last year after her album of hits, literally translated as Street of Wedding Cards, became the biggest seller of 2008. But it only took a few months for her to become the most troubled artist in the Cantopop scene – fame comes with a price and for Tse it was excessive paparazzi attention with a constant stream of gossip – from whether she’d had a nip/tuck job to her change in work attitude. But Tse decided to strike back through her music – in her latest album Yelling, the lyrics of two songs attack the media and public’s excessive interest in public figures. The album also sees her return to an edgy, sharp style in both music and lyrics as she collaborates with long-term producer Adrian Chow. Her biggest concert to date, Kay Tse Yelling Live, has added extra shows twice as tickets for the original dates were sold out within hours. The concert at the HK Coliseum will run from May 8-10 and May 13-16 at 8:15pm – tickets are $450, $300, $200 and $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

May 8-27
Not content to be solely a showcase of French culture, Le French May also encourages the meeting of East and West in its month-long festival. In Note of Eastern Dream, Saint-Cere-born artist Gilles Rieu – originally a social worker – will display a collection of his works, some recalling China’s traditional ink painting, inspired by his trips and adventures in the East. The artist will have had exhibitions in Canada, Israel, Vietnam, Japan and the Mainland before his works finally land in the SAR. The exhibition will last from May 8-27 at the Arts Beatus Gallery from 11:30am-7:30pm (closed on Sundays and public holidays).

May 10
As Le French May sweeps through the city this month, The Hong Kong Bach Choir and Orchestra bring their own taste of France to the SAR. In Berlioz: Sacred and Profane, the orchestra and choir led by conductor Jerome Hoberman will perform Scène d’amour from Roméo et Juliette as a profane contrast to the holy Messe solennelle, Berlioz’s first major manuscript written in 1824 and which he later stated he had burnt but which turned up in 1991 in a wooden chest in a church in Antwerp. The choir and orchestra will also perform Debussy’s Printemps, an early work of a leading figure of French impressionism, as an opener. The one-night-only concert will be on May 10 at 8pm in the HK Cultural Centre
Concert Hall.

San Francisco-based Chanticleer has been hailed as the world’s reigning male chorus by The New Yorker magazine and the 2008 Ensemble of the Year by Musical America. Music director and tenor Matthew Oltman will lead Chanticleer in their first concert in Hong Kong on May 10 as they chase an authentic American sound with a programme including America’s favourite songs, songs of the American Indians as well as American jazz, gospel and folk pieces. Catch Chanticleer at the Sha Tin Town Hall, 8pm on May 10. Tickets are $250, $180, and $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Looking Ahead...