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This year’s International Arts Carnival is a family affair

‘The Hong Kong people care too much about academics,’ says Shirley Tsui Sau-yin, senior manager of the Festivals Office at Hong Kong’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department. ‘They don’t care or know very much about the arts.’ The evidence does seem to support Tsui’s declaration: Tall banking buildings and massive temples to consumerism rather than elegant opera houses or lavish concert halls define our skyline. This summer’s International Arts Carnival (IAC), a massive celebration of the performing arts overseen by Tsui, aims to inject a little more culture into our achievement-obsessed city.

Although the IAC, which runs from Friday, July 3, to Sunday, August 9, is turning 10 this year, it shows no signs of slowing with age. Tsui says it will include about 400 different kinds of activities: ‘Stage performances and also workshops, exhibitions, school touring and foyer performances. And some performances will be toured to shopping malls.’ Most will be suitable for the whole family, though certain programmes are aimed specifically at children and teens.

Performers will come from across the globe – over 60% are originally from nations other than Hong Kong and China. ‘We have troupes from Canada, Denmark, France, Spain and China,’ says Tsui. Almost all imported acts are award-winners, and each is extremely popular in its own home country.

Considering the impressive talent roster, it should be easy for the IAC to maintain or improve upon last year’s 90% attendance record. Indeed, Tsui notes that tickets to certain programmes this year are already so popular that extra performances have been planned. She expects to see over 50,000 people at IAC’s ticketed shows and as many as 120,000 at the free performances.

All this enthusiasm indicates to Tsui that the IAC is achieving its goal of helping students develop ‘a long-term investment with the arts’. At the very least, the carnival will give bored Hong Kongers an enlightening alternative to yet another day in a large, air-conditioned mall – whether they’re nine, 90, or somewhere in between.

PrimeCuts

The carnival’s opener, Genghis Khan, is sure to dazzle anyone with a pulse. The IAC’s festival guide says it tells the story of ‘the fearless and visionary leader who founded the Mongol Empire’. Whether or not audiences agree with that assessment of the fierce warlord, the show is a spectacle that matches stunts like pole-climbing, acrobatics, and juggling with what Tsui calls ‘important Mongolian activities’ – traditional pursuits like archery, horseracing and wrestling. The show’s music, costumes and sets will all have heavy Mongolian elements as well, giving its audience a totally immersive experience. Most seats have already been sold, but attempting to snag one of the remaining spots should be well worth the effort. Genghis Khan will be performed at 7:30pm on July 3, 3pm and 7:30pm on July 4, and 11am and 3pm on July 5 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre.

The women who star in Laughing Mama, a play by Wong Wing-sze, may not have the athletic prowess of Genghis Khan’s performers but they do have the power to goad people into giggles. Tsui describes it as a ‘parent-child show’, a play that examines the lighter side of family relationships. The plot centres on three generations of women – single mother Tai-dee, her daughter Won-won and Won-won’s daughter Sau-sau –who each find, in turn, that being a mother is no easy task. Throughout their trials and tribulations, the members of the trio are always linked by love and laughter. Laughing Mama will be performed at 7:30pm on July 10 and 11, and 3pm on July 11 and 12 at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre Theatre. (In Cantonese).

While Genghis Khan presents breathtaking visuals and Laughing Mama tickles the funny bone, Aroma in the Dust is one of the IAC’s more serious offerings. It is an adaptation of Tale of the Red Plum, an operatic play written during the Ming Dynasty that tells the dramatic story of a scholar who joins the army and the woman he loves. Tsui says that the festival committee chose this production to expose Hong Kong youth to more Chinese classics: ‘In the past, we did classics of Shakespeare,’ she explains. ‘But this year, we will try to do a classic of China based on a very old story.’ Although the play has been around for centuries, its message is still relevant. ‘It is about love, and about loving the country,’ says Tsui. Pondering the meaning of patriotism may seem like a cerebral way to spend a summer evening, but Aroma’s young, talented cast – the production was originally staged at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in April – promise a thoroughly dynamic show. Aroma in the Dust will be performed at 7:30pm on July 17 and 18, and at 3pm on July 18 and 19 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Studio Theatre. (In Cantonese).

Classical music gets a much-needed kick in the pants in PaGAGnini, which features members of Spanish theatre troupe Yllana playing standards by composers like Mozart and Vivaldi while performing acts of physical comedy. If you’ve never seen a man transform a violin into a banjo or dance the flamenco while playing the cello—and chances are that you haven’t—this is a show not to be missed. 7:30 pm on August 7 and 8, 3 pm on August 8 in the Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre Theatre and 3 pm on August 9 in the Uen Long Theatre Auditorium.

TargetTeen

Previously the IAC ‘focused on the children, and then the children have grown up’, Tsui says, meaning not many performances specifically targeted teenagers. That’s all changing this year with the recently created New Generation series, which brings exciting entertainment to secondary school-aged Hong Kongers. B-Boyz and Ballerina is the star of the series, a performance imported from South Korea that mixes classical dance styles with street dance and hip-hop. Tsui is particularly excited about B-Boyz because, with intense dance battles and thumping beats from the Gorilla Crew dance troupe, it’s ‘a special programme – a hit in Korea, in the UK, in the Singapore Arts Festival, and also in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – all over the world’. The IAC is also hosting a hip-hop workshop that will teach teens to pop, lock and spin just like the pros. B-Boyz and Ballerina plays out at 7:30pm on August 7 and 8 and 3pm on August 8 at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. The dance workshop will be at 3pm on August 6 in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre Backstage Level 6 GR1. Conducted in Korean with Cantonese interpretation.

Teens who can’t go more than a few seconds without IMing, texting or tweeting will find plenty to relate to in Teen Wave, the IAC finale. This play follows Ben, a shy boy with plenty of friends online but few in the real world as, uncharacteristically spontaneous, he goes to the beach for a life-changing canoe trip. Suddenly he finds there’s more to life than cyberspace. This loose adaptation of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe builds in video and dance for a technologically engaging entertainment that will make even nerds forget their computers – for a few hours, anyway. Teen Wave will be performed at 7:30pm on August 7 and 8 and 3:30pm on August 9 at the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity Multi-media Theatre. (In Cantonese).

If just sitting back and watching a performance isn’t enough, the City Snapshots workshop/exhibition gives latent artists an opportunity to stretch their creative muscles. Photos that teens take in various parts of the city during the workshop will later be compiled into a two-week exhibition at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The whole exercise will teach the young photographers how to appreciate art, says Tui. The workshop, in Cantonese, will start on July 13 and run to July 17 from 10am-1pm and then again July 20-24 from 2-5pm at the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity Gallery.

KidsMagic

With tickets at half price for children, the young ’uns will find hundreds of things to do and see at the IAC – and Boxy George is sure to be one of their favourites. This charming puppet show, an import from Denmark, tells the tale of a lovable recluse and the mischievous boxes that hound him. Boxy George will be performed July 31 at 7:30pm, August 1 and 2 at 2:30 and 5pm, and August 4-7 at 5pm and 7:30pm at the Kwai Tsing Theatre Black Box Theatre.

Puppet fans are in luck – along with Boxy George, the IAC has landed The Carnival of Chinese Puppets, a showcase of glove, shadow, and life-sized puppets operated by master puppeteers. Curious kids can attend the Creative Puppet Workshops with their parents to learn more about what they’ve seen in the show and even create puppets of their own. For more details, like times and locations for the show and the workshops, check www.hkiac.gov.hk/.

The Alchemist, like Boxy George, is part of the IAC’s Fantasy Realm series, which transports audiences to dreamlike worlds of magic and wonder. This animated journey adapts Paulo Coelho’s novel of the same name, telling the story of Santiago, a boy who searches for a hidden treasure. As Tsui says, the message of the show is that ‘everyone will have a miracle in their lifetime if they can keep on chasing their goal’. The Alchemist runs from July 24-26 at 7:30pm and July 25 and 26 at 2:30pm, Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre Theatre. (In Cantonese).
For more information on the carnival and tips on how to purchase tickets, visit www.hkiac.gov.hk/ or call 2734 9009.