West Kowloon Cultural District Unveils Performing Arts Season 2023-2024 with over 80 Exciting Programmes

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA or the Authority) today unveiled the exciting lineup for its Performing Arts Season 2023-2024, featuring more than 80 programmes in over 700 performances and events over the coming year till next June, spanning Xiqu, music, theatre, dance, learning and participation. The new season puts the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD or the District) in a strong position to become a focal point for vibrant arts performances, hosting artists and institutions from Hong Kong, Mainland China and around the world with a vision to amplify the District’s creative potential and transcend boundaries in the performing arts.

Xiqu – fifth anniversary of Xiqu Centre celebrated with the newly adapted Peking opera and performances by China Theatre Plum Blossom Award Art Troupe; Performances by the Shanghai Pingtan Troupe and the Black Box Chinese Opera Festival 2023

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Xiqu Centre – the first landmark performing arts venue to open at the District – in early 2024, highly acclaimed performing groups from Mainland China and Hong Kong will be invited to perform. Major highlights of the anniversary celebration include Birthday Celebration by Five Daughters (Peking Opera), an adaptation of a classic Peking opera showcasing different stylistic schools presented by the China National Peking Opera Company in January 2024; and three assorted performances by China Theatre Plum Blossom Award Art Troupe in June 2024.

Lao Feng Xiang 175th Anniversary Presents: Shanghai Pingtan Troupe – Favourites and Classics, co-organised by the Xiqu Centre and The Shanghai Center of Chinese Operas, and performed by the renowned Shanghai Pingtan Troupe, will be presented in two special performances in this September: “Pingtan Styles Showcase” and “The Best of Shanghai Pingtan Troupe”.

The critically acclaimed Black Box Chinese Opera Festival, sponsored by the Yam Pak Charitable Foundation this year, returns from 1 October 2023. Alongside two award-winning original experimental Cantonese opera productions, Farewell My Concubine (New Adaptation) and Wenguang Explores the Valley, The Imperial Decree (Preview) will also be staged to sound out the trilogy. In addition, two long-awaited performances – The Chairs by Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, a re-adaptation of the 1952 experimental play by French playwright Eugène Ionesco, and Sister A Da by the Jin Liansheng Gaojia Opera Troupe of Xiamen City, celebrating the artistic traditions of comic Gaojia opera through a contemporary lens – will give audiences a taste of highly creative performances drawn from different regions of China.

Music – the fifth edition of the WestK Presents: Freespace Jazz Fest returns with an exciting, international lineup

The fifth edition of the WestK Presents: Freespace Jazz Fest, to be held from 3 to 8 October and 26 October, promises to be bigger, more international and exciting than ever before. This year’s festival features an all-star lineup of more than 500 jazz musicians from 11 countries and regions who together will present over 100 performances at outdoor and indoor stages at Freespace, the Art Park Great Lawn, Harbourside Lawn West, Wonderland, M+ and the Xiqu Centre, promising to be an unforgettable experience for music lovers, transcending cultures, styles and genres.

From 6 to 8 October, headliners from the UK, the US, Mainland China, Poland and Hong Kong playing under the stars at Wonderland include the Lawrence Ku Trio, the Patrick Lui Jazz Orchestra (featuring local jazz stars Eugene Pao and Ted Lo), The Comet is Coming, Li Xiao-chuan, Grammy Award winner Richard Bona, Voision Xi, Kinga Głyk, and Antonio Sánchez & Bad Hombre led by the four-time Grammy Award winner, showcasing the diversity of jazz music. Korean jazz sensation Dasom Baek (daegeum), who gave an online performance at last year’s festival, will perform in person this year, forming a trio with Ina Kang (geomungo) and Eunsil Noh (vocal) and teaming with Hong Kong musician Olivier Cong for an exciting experimental performance blending traditional Korean instrumental sounds with electronic elements. Director Yau Chung-wai and music director Tsui Chin-hung will join hands, together with Hong Kong singer Crystal Cheung Man-ka, drama performers Chan Wing-shuen and Mok Kok Pong Michael, to take kids on a jazz-discovery journey through the original interactive musical Mischievous Boy.

To bring the festival to an exciting close, on 26 October award-winning jazz singer Stacey Kent will perform with trio members Art Hirahara and Jim Tomlinson in a highly anticipated concert at the Grand Theatre of the Xiqu Centre.

More information about the Freespace Jazz Fest programme such as free programmes, workshops, F&B offerings, weekend market and ticket details will be announced tomorrow (23 August). The festival is sponsored by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund.

Theatre – original musical The Impossible Trial makes highly anticipated full-scaled return

After winning a record-breaking 10 awards at the 31st Hong Kong Drama Awards, The Impossible Trial, an original musical commissioned by WKCDA and produced in collaboration with the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre (HKRep), returns in December this year at the Grand Theatre of the Xiqu Centre. A crowning achievement of the District and HKRep, The Impossible Trial is the culmination of years of passion and hard work by music director and composer Leon Ko, lyricist Chris Shum, scriptwriter Cheung Fei-fan, director Fong Chun-kit and a multi-talented cast, marking a major milestone in the history of original Hong Kong musicals.

Renowned director Edward Lam, screen veteran Elaine Jin and musical theatre stars Margaret Cheung and Jordan Cheng will reunite for a full-scale presentation evolving from the work-in-progress performance in January 2023, this time joined by music director Harris Ho. Officially premiering this September at The Box, Hard Times looks at suffering in a humorous and bittersweet light. With the “three minus one” mahjong table from the previous edition and intangible cues on stage, the performers are encouraged to lay bare their innermost feelings and life experiences. Audiences can watch them learn from each other, complement each other, and create an organic theatre experience that is ephemeral and at the same time enduring in our memories.

Dance – ISH Dance Collective’s Elements of Freestyle makes Asia debut in June 2024

With urban sports enter Olympics, the District will present ISH Dance Collective’s Elements of Freestyle, a bold and exquisitely choreographed spectacle of extreme urban sports, street dance and music, during 28-30 June 2024 to celebrate 2024 Paris Olympics and Freespace’s fifth anniversary. Elements of Freestyle is directed and choreographed by the world-renowned Marco Gerris, artistic director of the ISH Dance Collective and former jury member of hit TV show So You Think You Can Dance. The production features an acclaimed cast of 10 performers – including breakdancers, in-line skaters, freestyle basketball jugglers, BMXers and free-runners – along with live string music and theatrical lighting, transforming the ecstasy and freedom of the street into an energetic and eye-opening urban dance performance.

WKCD will also support the City Contemporary Dance Festival, as its festival partner, joining forces with the City Contemporary Dance Company to co-present the opening programme - Stream of Dust and showcase the HOTPOT East Asia Dance Platform Japan. Stream of Dust is the new work by internationally acclaimed choreographer Sang Jijia, performed by over 40 dancers, including CCDC Dance Artists and graduating students of the School of Dance at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. In the HOTPOT Japan, two groups of top talents from Japan will present a double-bill steeped in their own culture at Freespace.

In addition, the District will co-present with Hong Kong Dance Company two award-winning works – Convergence and HerStory. Co-presented online in 2020 and awarded the Hong Kong Dance Award for Outstanding Online Production that year, Convergence is the culmination of a three-year interdisciplinary research study on Chinese dance and Chinese martial arts traditions by the Company, and will have its first live public performance in Hong Kong this season. HerStory, winner of two awards at the Hong Kong Dance Awards, was created by renowned choreographer Helen Lai. Lai takes inspirations from Nüshu, the ancient written language developed and used exclusively by women in rural areas of Hunan Province, as well as the contemporary prose of Hong Kong female authors Xi Xi and Wong Bik-wan, to present a powerful depiction of female identity and women’s role in history, literature and dance.

Learning and participation – WestK Fun Fest brings families together through art performances, large-scale outdoor installations and workshops

The District has fast become a popular destination for family activities. To continue connecting communities and families through arts and culture, the District will organise its first WestK Fun Fest in 2024. Arts educators and artists from different regions will be invited to stage a wide variety of performances, large-scale outdoor art installations, interactive workshops and activities at the Art Park, Freespace and Xiqu Centre, helping to inspire creativity among families and give them new perspectives through participation in the arts

Paul Tam, Executive Director, Performing Arts of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, said: “Envisioned to be boundary-pushing arts incubators as well as a world-class cultural hub, the Xiqu Centre aims to promote the treasured heritage art of Chinese opera, while Freespace champions the ingenuity of contemporary performance. Over the past four years, the Performing Arts Division has earned praise for its parades of innovative and accessible programming that continue to breathe new life into these two vibrant venues. This 5th anniversary season promises over 700 performances and events of Xiqu, Music, Dance, Theatre, and Learning and Participation under the new banner of ‘WestK Presents’, showcasing our biggest and most international programming to date.”

Information on Ticketing and Other Programmes
Tickets for the 2023-2024 West Kowloon Performing Arts Season will be rolled out in stages. For more information about the latest programme and ticketing details, please refer to the District website: https://www.westkowloon.hk/en/season2324

Remarks

About the West Kowloon Cultural District
The West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on 40 hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances, and cultural events, providing 23 hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.
https://www.westkowloon.hk/