Arts defy time. Many of the masterpieces that were created hundred or even thousand years ago are still treasured by us today. This year, the 27th Macau Arts Festival (MAF) seeks to enrich those great creations with a touch of modernity.
With the slogan “Reshape your Imagination. Experience the Spirit of the Times”, MAF will present Macau audiences with 27 excellent shows and artistic exhibitions as well as an outreach programme – in a total of over 100 activities that bring the audience into the spaces of the Chinese and Western cultures.
Pay Tribute to the Masters
To understand a place's cultural content, one can simply walk into the theatres there. MAF has "invited" two virtuosos of Chinese and Western theatre – William Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu – to Macau through different performances written by or related to them. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of the two giants, and the MAF would like to play tribute to them on the stage.
The Festival will kick off with Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, rendered by the Shakespeare Theatre Company from USA, featuring stunning and delicate sceneries and wardrobe. The Festival will draw to a close with an adaptation of Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s most renowned tragedies, presented by Third World Bunfight from South Africa, a show exploring a vision of the world through a post-colonial African scenery and the historical and current relations between Africa and the West. Tang Xianzu’s two acclaimed works will be staged, namely Excerpts of The Peony Pavilion, performed by the Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe from Mainland China, and the romantic tragedy The Legend of the Purple Hairpin, performed by renowned Macao Cantonese opera artist Chu Chan Wa and by other local Cantonese opera artists.
Apart from reenacting the classics,MAF presents Micro-Shakespeare"and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) for the audience to explore in depth the masterpieces by these two literary giants.
Great Shows from around the World
In order to develop an even broader perspective of the performing arts, the MAF introduces innovative and cross-disciplinary performances: Krapp’s Last Tape, Samuel Beckett’s famed work directed and performed by internationally acclaimed theatre and director Robert Wilson; Jérôme Bel and Swiss Theater HORA’s Disabled Theater performed by actors with cognitive disabilities reveals how these can question the contemporary society; the abstract dance pieces 6&7 by extraordinary choreographer Tao Ye and TAO Dance Theater which explore the potential of the human body; the dance piece Obsession by Japanese dance masters Saburo Teshigawara and Rihoko Sato, illustrating how an inner obsession torns the conscious while creating a poetic space; and the concert Coppia, an amazing journey in which dance and music play in a tennis court.
Local Greatness
Given that it is a "Macau" art festival, it is impossible not to invite some of the greatest artists to participate in the event.
In this context, this edition of the Festival features Shelf Life, a combination of visual art and installation; the musical performance The Fairy Tales from the World of Chaos; the uplifting experimental concert Journey to the Last Frontier – Concert; the satiric play in Patuá A Tea for a Dream; Mu Guiying Battling in Hongzhou by the Macao Kaifong Cantonese Opera Juvenile’s Troupe, which inherits the essence and aestheticism of intangible cultural heritage; and the play Someone in “Outlaws of the Marsh” featuring elements from Cantonese Opera. Aside from this, the Yue opera Lu You and Tang Wan performed by a top female Yue opera troupe from Mainland China, the Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe, presents the poetic style and aesthetics spirit of the region south of the Yangtze river.
Moreover, MAF does not target adult audiences only, it has also prepared programs that combine education and fun for children and teenagers.
Several family shows, such as the fantastic In Chants, suitable for children between 6 months and 3 years of age, The Assembly of Animals, in which scientific experiments meet puppets, the high level ice skating and dance show Glide, the interdisciplinary performances featured in the Outdoor Performing Arts Showcase which promotes arts in the community, and the children’s puppet play Circles, which explores issues of marine conservation, among others. These, together with concerts by the Macao Orchestra and the Macao Chinese Orchestra, as well as two large-scale thematic exhibitions, reveal the diversity and richness of culture in Macau.
Outreach Program
The MAF Outreach Programme this year features 22 programmes and 41 activities, including talks, masterclasses, workshops, backstage tours, exhibitions, school performances, art critique, accessibility services, movie screenings and post-show talks, offering the audience a full range of tailor-made artistic experiences. Several activities take Shakespeare as theme, offering an interpretation of the playwright’s outstanding works.
On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, the MAF organized special outreach activities dedicated to the playwright: Artistic Director of the Taiwan Contemporary Legend Theatre, Wu Hsing-Kuo, and renowned Hong Kong theatre director, Tang Shu-Wing, present “A Dialogue between Masters – Wu Hsing-Kuo x Tang Shu-Wing – Searching for the Contemporary Meaning of Shakespeare”, sharing their interpretation and understanding of Shakespeare’s plays; Associate Professor of English at University of Macao, Katrine K. Wong, will introduce the cultural and historical context of theatrical music commonly practised at Shakespeare’s time and will explore the dramaturgical significance of music in Shakespeare’s Macbeth; following the opening show A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there will be a backstage tour for the audience to see the set and props of each act of this performance, and intimately experience the romance and aesthetics of the work; in “1 Night! Shakespeare”, the audience will experience Shakespeare’s poetic charm and romance through the eyes, ears and taste buds.
Keng Yi-Wei, who is both an experienced art critic from Taiwan and the artistic director of the Taipei Arts Festival, will develop the appreciation for Robert Wilson’s interpretation of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape; the “Into the Wild” – Workshop by members of Theater HORA offers an artistic workshop to Macao residents with cognitive disabilities; the “Sharing Session on Exchange with Overseas Theatre Professionals” offers opportunities of mutual artistic exploration for local performers and artists; Tim Spooner, the producer of The Assembly of Animals, will guide children in exploring interesting tools and materials to make animals . In what concerns masterclasses, TAO Dance Theater encourages participants to traverse the limits of their bodies and experience their relationship with space and with other dancers; Canadian group Le Patin Libre, debuting in Asia, shares with the local experienced ice skaters their contemporary ice skating and street dance fusion techniques .
Ticket Hunting
Tickets for the 27th MAF are available at the Macau Ticketing Network from 10am on 13 March (Sunday). Reservations can be made by phone or online from 12pm onwards on the same day.
Previous experience suggests that it is really difficult to secure tickets for those popular events. As a result, the organizer has rolled out measures to ensure that more people can get their hands on the tickets. On the first day of ticket sales, each person can purchase a maximum of ten tickets per performance, except for the performances The Assembly of Animals and Circles, a maximum of four tickets per person and In Chants, a maximum of two children packages and two observer tickets per person.
Furthermore, early bird discounts of 30%, subject to certain criteria, are available from 13 to 20 March and 20% discount will be offered from 21 March onwards. Holders of specified credit cards can also enjoy different discounts. For more information, please refer to the MAF's booklet.
For each purchase over MOP800 (net amount after discount), purchasers may receive a discount voucher and exclusive offers at MGM Macau’s selected restaurants and SPA (available while stocks last). In addition, the show In Chants offers special packages.
As for the outreach activities provided, most of them with free admission. Limited seats are available and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.
The Macao Arts Festival website: www.icm.gov.mo/fam
email: [email protected].
For enquiries regarding the programme, please contact the Cultural Affairs Bureau through tel. 8399 6699 during office hours.
24-hour ticket reservation hotline: (Macao) 2855 5555;
(Hong Kong) 2380 5083;
(Mainland China) 139 269 11111;
online ticket reservation is available at www.macauticket.com.