Foreword

Our 2023/24 Performing Arts Season marks not one, but two special milestones – the Xiqu Centre and Freespace will be celebrating their 5^th anniversaries in January and June 2024 respectively.

Envisioned to be boundary-pushing arts incubators as well as world-class cultural hubs, 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, artist-centric and accessible programming that breathe new life into these vibrant venues.

The 5^th anniversary season spanning August 2023 to July 2024 promises to be a spectacular celebration of creativity and culture, showcasing our biggest and most international progamming to date. Under the new banner “WestK Presents”, we will unveil over 700 exhilarating performances and events that excite and inspire. Popular and critically-acclaimed festivals return with fresh inspiration, including the perennial Freespace Jazz Fest, headlined by jazz greats such as singer Stacey Kent and drummer Antonio Sanchez, the experimental Black Box Chinese Opera Festival and our brand new WestK Fun Fest curated for families.

Major spotlight programmes include the highly-anticipated return of The Impossible Trial – a musical, which received 10 awards at the 31^st Hong Kong Drama Awards, and Edward Lam’s Hard Times, featuring Hong Kong Film Award and Golden Horse Award winner Elaine Jin Yam-ling. As part of our special 5th Anniversary productions, we will host the famed Chinese National Peking Opera Company for an unforgettable run of the Peking opera Birthday Celebration by Five Daughters, along with Elements of Freestyle which blends extreme sports and breakdance.

Through our new WestK Creators series, we continue to nurture Hong Kong’s rising contemporary artists and present their innovative and original creations. To bring the transformative power of the arts to a wider public audience, The Fourth Wall presents a series of talks and workshops led by creative experts from various fields. At Freespace Weekly Gigs at Lau Bak Livehouse, we celebrate music’s unique ability to bring people together by highlighting the diverse music scene in Hong Kong. Tea House Theatre’s regular programme Magic Tea House 2.0 – Dreams of the Future offers a new look at Cantonese opera and traditional Chinese music. And this is only the beginning — stay tuned for more programmes as the Season progresses.

As we revel in celebrations of the Xiqu Centre and Freespace, another beacon of light shines brighter by the day on the West Kowloon Cultural District. The Lyric Theatre Complex, our third performing arts centre with a focus on Dance, will be open to the public in 2026. Together with the two opened venues, this new centre will trace the past, present and future of the performing arts to weave a rich tapestry of artistic traditions, contemporary creativity and limitless possibilities.

Paul Tam
Executive Director, Performing Arts