A highlight of the HKAF programme, the World Music Weekend is a sonic journey across continents. This year’s selection brings klezmer music from eastern Europe, Korea’s singer-storyteller pansori tradition, and Buryat-Mongol music from the vast and distant Lake Baikal region of Siberia. Experience great artistry and traditions, developed over centuries and now brought into the 21st century.
INTRODUCTION
Namgar
18 Mar, 5:00pm
Namgar
Nomadic songs of the Buryat wandering tribe

“[Namgar] combines traditional and modern instruments…its lead singer, who seems almost a Mongolian version of Björk” The New York Times

Namgar champions the musical heritage of Mongolian and Buryatian nomads in southern Siberia. Its songs tell of ancient battles, brave warriors and swift horses. Described by The New York Times as “a Mongolian version of Björk”, Namgar is the name of both the band and its lead singer. Together, they bring a contemporary slant to their traditional music, infused with the raw and rocking energy of electric guitars while simultaneously retaining its authentic emotion and beauty.

A highlight of the HKAF programme, the World Music Weekend is a sonic journey across continents. This year’s selection brings klezmer music from eastern Europe, Korea’s singer-storyteller pansori tradition, and Buryat-Mongol music from the vast and distant Lake Baikal region of Siberia. Experience great artistry and traditions, developed over centuries and now brought into the 21st century.
INTRODUCTION
Songhee Pansori LAB
18 Mar, 3:00pm
Songhee Pansori LAB
A Pansori artist for the modern generation with dynamic energy and power

With its origins in 17th century Korea, traditional Pansori features one voice singing narrative poetry enhanced.

Kwon Songhee brings this UNESCO-recognised art form into modern times with Songhee Pansori LAB, featuring new songs with a contemporary slant and additional instruments, complementing the singer-storyteller with electronic music, ambient sounds and trip-hop.

A highlight of the HKAF programme, the World Music Weekend is a sonic journey across continents. This year’s selection brings klezmer music from eastern Europe, Korea’s singer-storyteller pansori tradition, and Buryat-Mongol music from the vast and distant Lake Baikal region of Siberia. Experience great artistry and traditions, developed over centuries and now brought into the 21st century.
INTRODUCTION

Anna Maria Jopek and Kroke
17-18 Mar, 8:00pm

Anna Maria Jopek and Kroke

“Anna is original, unique, different. She’s brave. She’s modest.”
Pat Metheny

“What makes me feel drawn to Kroke’s music is the spiritual reality of the musicians, this means honesty and authenticity of the music.” Nigel Kennedy

Anna Maria Jopek and Kroke are innovators. From a background in Polish folk culture and classical music, Anna has brought originality to performances and recordings with contemporary legends such as Nigel Kennedy and Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis and Sting. Kroke may be rooted in the Jewish klezmer tradition but they cross many borders, embracing Sephardic and Arabic patterns to produce a jazzy sound that counts Steven Spielberg as one of many fans. Jopek and Kroke blend opposite but complementary worlds of sensitivity and sound.

” ‘Curious’ is not really about Christopher at all. It’s about us.”
—Mark Haddon, Author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
“A phenomenal combination of storytelling and spectacle” The Times

★★★★★
Evening Standard, Daily Mail, Sunday Express, Sunday Telegraph, The Independent, The Mail on Sunday, The Times

“A beautiful, eloquent, dazzlingly inventive show about the wonders of life.” ★★★★★ Evening Standard

“Astonishing and Unmissable” ★★★★★ Sunday Express

“Magical and Moving” ★★★★★ Daily Mail

“Triumphant. Simon Stephen’s imaginative adaptation of Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel proves a resounding success” ★★★★★ Sunday Telegraph

INTRODUCTION

Winner of five Tony Awards® and seven Oliviers including Best Play, Best Design, and Best Director this thrilling production from Britain’s National Theatre has been hailed by The Times as “a phenomenal combination of storytelling and spectacle.”

Based on Mark Haddon’s 2003 best-selling novel, itself winner of 17 international awards, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time directed by Marianne Elliott of War Horse fame, has been a smash hit in London’s West End and on Broadway, and has thrilled a global audience via screening as a “Live from the NT” film screening.

15-year-old Christopher Boone has an extraordinary brain, exceptional at maths while ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched and he distrusts strangers. When Christopher falls under suspicion of killing his neighbour’s dog, his detective work to identify the true culprit takes him on a frightening journey that turns his world upside down. The Curious Incident is a story about all of us, a story about difference, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way.

Playwright Simon Stephens has adapted Mark Haddon’s book for the stage in a production which is brought to thrilling life by Bunny Christie’s dazzling high-technology set design, with lighting by Paule Constable and video design by Finn Ross. This acclaimed production from the National Theatre of Great Britain features a full UK cast and is a global phenomenon that simply must not be missed.

“No matter what kind of theatre art form, modern drama or traditional Chinese opera, what’s real is always the core values in our artistic pursuit. We should embrace it in our creative process with the utmost pleasure.”
—Fredric Mao
A ravishing tale of star-crossed lovers that redefines traditional aesthetics

INTRODUCTION

In partnership with revered theatre director Fredric Mao, this 2018 project sets out to create a Cantonese opera production with a refreshed approach to script writing, stage design, lighting, music and costume, as well as vigorous preparation, rehearsals and performance practices. It is not only a re-staging of a Cantonese opera classic in an updated form, but a development strategy that will bring this traditional art form to a broader audience in Hong Kong.

A historical tale of political intrigue, romance and honour, Pavilion of a Hundred Flowers is a widely acclaimed Cantonese opera by Tong Tik-sang, who drew inspiration for the work from a Kun opera. Prince Anxi has long planned to revolt, and so the court has Zou Hualong and Jiang Liuyun infiltrate his mansion as spies. Tricked into entering the forbidden Pavilion of a Hundred Flowers by eunuch Bala, Liuyun meets Princess Baihua, who falls for his graceful demeanour. While the Princess gifts Liuyun with a sword and her hand in marriage, a backdrop of deception and conflict is about to enmesh them.

Written in 1958 for the Lai Sing Opera Troupe, Pavilion of a Hundred Flowers has been a widely popular work among audiences since its premiere, which featured renowned actors such as Ho Fei-fan and Ng Kwan-lai. To revamp this classic, director Fredric Mao has teamed up with young playwright Kong Chun-Kit to rework the script and to introduce new performance components and a modern perspective into this classic. With evocative portrayals of the characters and their emotions, the new production also highlights the artistry of the cast and the promise of the next generation of Cantonese opera performers.

“Real to Me is: My children, my wife, my parents, my home, the trees behind my window. Everything else could be the realm of ghosts. Who knows.”
Alvis Hermanis, Director of Shukshin’s Stories

“For me the reality is first and foremost the art itself, and the stage, and my roles. The more insane, absurd and terrifying gets the world we live in – the more significant becomes the reality of creation and fantasy.”
Evgeny Mironov, Artistic Director of Theatre of Nations (Moscow)
A star-studded cast pays homage to Russia’s most beloved writer

“Shukshin’s tales melt heart, stand test of time” Moscow Times

“[Shukshin] represents the essence of Russia…the director and the actors are a match for this brilliant writer. It was just outstanding.” Vladimir Putin

INTRODUCTION

Based on a selection of stories by Soviet-era cultural phenomenon, Vasily Shukshin (1929-1974), this vivid and heartwarming production was runaway prize-winner at Russia’s prestigious Golden Mask festival and has been acclaimed in the USA and at many of Europe’s leading international theatre events since its premiere in 2008.

Born into a Siberian peasant background, Vasily Shukshin was a household name in the Soviet Union of the 1960s and early 1970s. An award-winning film director and actor, he also wrote novels, plays, movie scripts and re-invented the short story as a major form in Russian literature.

Portraying people and situations from his own personal experience, Shukshin’s tales are set in a remote Siberian village caught in transition between rural traditions and modern, urban, Soviet life. His frequently eccentric characters are survivors of revolution, collectivisation and war, seeking their identity in a “brave new world”. Hopelessly out of time and touch, these country folk struggle with questions of life and death, faith and reason, custom and progress. Shukshin describes the gap between their dreams and reality with understanding, warmth, love and humour.

The cast features some of Russia’s most famous theatre names including Theatre of Nations’ Artistic Director, Evgeny Mironov, and Chulpan Khamatova (star of 2003 hit movie, Good Bye Lenin!). Latvian director Alvis Hermanis made his name as founder-director of the National Theatre of Riga, with productions that have achieved critical success worldwide including at the Edinburgh and Avignon festivals. Hermanis’ recent productions include opera La Traviata for the Salzburg Festival in 2014, starring Plácido Domingo and Anna Netrebko.

Asad is a young somalian refugee with a painful past, a brilliant head for business and miraculously good luck. After years in a refugee camp, then learningto hustle on the streets of Ethiopia, he sets off for the promised land of South Africa. Once he has arrived in the townships, his adventures really begin.

Based on interviews with the real-life Asad Abdullahi, Jonny Steinberg’s 2015 book, A Man of Good Hope is much more than the simple biography of a lonely young migrant who longs for a decent life. This is truly exhilarating theatre, bursting with life, a full-blooded hymn to that most fragile of human qualities: hope. Part play, part opera and part musical, Asad’s story unfolds with joyous ensemble singing and roof-raising marimba, djembe drum and percussion
sound. A 25-strong company delivers the story with incredible dynamism, delight and irresistible South African style. A Man of Good Hope is a co-production sound. A 25-strong company delivers the story with incredible dynamism, delight and irresistible South African style.

A Man of Good Hope is a co-production between London’s powerhouse Young Vic Theatre and internationally acclaimed Cape Town-based Isango Ensemble together with Royal Opera, Répons Foundation, BAM and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg Isango was founded in 2000 by Mark Dornford-May and Pauline Malefane and draws its performers from the previously disadvantaged townships surrounding the city, creating performances with a strong South African flavour by reimagining Western theatre classics within a South African setting and by creating new work reflecting South African heritage. Isango has won international fame for its adaptations of The Mysteries and classic operas such as the Golden Bear-winning feature film uCarmen eKhayelitsha and Olivier Award-winning The Magic Flute (Impempe Yomlingo), in a contemporary South African township setting.