Taboo- Review- City of Dreams

Every year I have an amazing time with my girlfriends and have a ladies weekend in Macau. This years' ladies weekend revolved around seeing Taboo, the new Dragone show produced at The City of Dreams. As a member of Hong Kong's Vixens and a big fan of burlesque as an art form I was really excited to see what this amazing production team could do with such a sexy theme. I really believe there is a huge market for adult entertainment in Macau that is being largely ignored. There are fifty showgirl shows in Las Vegas- some great and some tacky. I like that the team from Dragone decided to do something sexy. I think that it was a well conceived idea and was indeed a beautifully designed show. It is very sexy, the dancers cast are beautiful and extremely talented at what they do.

Review- Filumena- Italian Chamber of Commerce and Stylus Theatre

"Children are children"- Eduardo Filippo

This is by far the most memorable line in the show and one of the overall themes of the play. We are all equal. We are all children at one point in our lives. We are all the same and should be judged the same. Filippo's play also explores meanings of motherhood, respectability, and what is the family unit. When the family is such an iconic thing in the Italian culture Filippo explores the non-traditional family with a mother who takes care of a children from a far and a woman who was raised in a family that hated her.

Filippo's play, Filumena was one of two Italian plays that hit the Hong Kong stage this weekend. It was produced by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in partner with Stylus Theatre. Directed and Designed by Adam Harris. I came to the theatre expecting a barrel of laughs, as when I studied Filippo in college I had come to believe that Filippo was a satirist but I left the theatre I was a bit puzzled to say the least...

Review- Accidental Death of an Anarchist 個無政府主義者的意外死亡- FM Theatre Power

There is certainly a plethora of Italian theatre in Hong Kong this weekend. Audiences have a choice of Filumena presented by The Italian Chamber of Commerce and Stylus Theatre or they could attend FM Theatre Power's production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo. Surprisingly both going down in the HK Arts Center in Wanchai!

Mo from FM Theatre Power was kind enough to translate the program for me and give me some background info on their rehearsal process before I came. Many thanks! I'm a big fan of their work since I saw Kitty Hunter last year. (It was the their some what controversial production where the murderer stuffed severed heads of prostitutes into Hello Kitty stuffed animals...) Because that's what HK serial killers do, la!

Review- Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know- HK Singers

After the sell-out success of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change!, HK Singers has produced another small style cabaret musical with Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know. I love this style of musical. I don't think musicals need a lot of flash to be good. I think they need talented singers, a funny script and a great audience to come along with them for the ride. This show had all of these. Small intimate musicals are the innovative way for smaller theatre companies to delve into the musical genre without breaking the bank. It was an ensemble piece starring: Jai Ignacio, Moe Moss, Matthew Gillespie, Micha Sparrow, Paul Hay, Shareen Sing and Talia Ritz.

Directed by APA choreographer and professor, Mandy Petty, it was blocked incredibly well. It had excellent spacing and good use of the stage. I thought the choreography was well conceived and I particularly liked the use of the rolling chairs in the choreography. The pre-show concept was also very well executed by actors: Jai Ignacio, Moe Moss and Micha Sparrow. We only see vignettes of each character but I thought the acting was done well. The show was simple but excellent. They say simplicity is a sign of perfection. Please see: Reservations Part 3, for example.

Review- Featuring Loretta- Dramatic English

Peter Brook states in his book, An Empty Space, that all one needs to produce theatre is "an empty space, an actor to walk across it, and someone to watch him." Dramatic English's production of Featuring Loretta starring: Aisling McDonnell, Daniel Levia, Michael Rogers and Shirley Sheung went back to basics and put together a show with ZERO budget to present to audience's for FREE! In their program notes, the cast writes: "You don't need anything beyond a script and a few good friends..." Amen!

Review- Talking With- Aurora Theatre

Tonight I was invited to the preview of Talking With by Jane Martin. It is being presented by Aurora Theatre this Sunday at Grappa's Cellar at 2pm and 8pm, 200HKD. Before there was The Vagina Monologues there was this collection of women's monologues so I was excited to see what all the fuss was about.

If you saw Coffee and Cigarettes back in October you saw two pieces performed from this play. The monologue French Fries was performed by Faith Lawson who is now nominated for a Best Bit Role in the HK Arts Awards so obviously she left an impression. Miss Lawson will not be in this production as she has sadly left HK to return to NYC. Jenny Hann who performed Rodeo in October will also be in this new production but will be taking on a triple threat role as both an actress, co-producer and costume designer. If you liked what you saw in October you'll love what you'll see Sunday!

Backstage Live- More like Backstab Live

Recently, I performed for the first time in Backstage Live, a small venue in LKF with The Vixens. It was our first full length cabaret and we were looking for a venue with liquor and a stage in the same room. A tough thing to find in HK that isn't completely overpriced!!! We were first impressed by the venue for it's cheap price, great location and great manager Joanna. She was lovely and helpful. (Still is. This review is no reflection on her because she was one of the few highlights of the experience at the venue.) For Hong Kong this venue is very well priced. You pay a small fee up front and put a deposit on the bar tab. If the bar tab is reached then you get the bar tab deposit back. We were excited to perform here and even more excited when we SOLD OUT our show completely. The night before the show we were given 20 minutes to walk around the venue. We talked a minute to the lovely Joanna and talked about the Sold Out venue and the need for 82 seats. The owner of the venue happened to be in the room at the time. "82! How are 82 people going to fit in here?"

This should have been our first sign on what was going to be a good show but a generally negative venue experience.

Review- California Suite- Sweet and Sour Productions

Tonight I attended Sweet and Sour's presentation of Neil Simon's California Suite. Neil Simon is the bread and butter of comedy in America. We are raised and spoon fed him as the base of all that is good about quintessential American Comedy. California Suite was written in 1976 and is VERY seventies. I was discussing with my friends in the audience about how I think pieces from the seventies should be considered period pieces now. A lot of the pop culture jokes in California Suite no longer translate as funny especially to a Hong Kong audience because they have no idea who these people are... When California Suite debuted it was received to mixed reviews. Some people raved about it as it was considered the unofficial sequel to his previous hit Plaza Suite and some people panned it. One reviewer from the New York Times even called it "Sleazy and shoddily constructed" OUCH... No need for such tough words tonight as I thought my evening with Sweet and Sour was very sweet.

Review- Yellow Face- Hong Kong Players

Tonight I braved the rain and hopped down to Sheung Wan to see Hong Kong Players opening night of Yellow Face by Asian American playwright, David Henry Hwang. Yellow Face talks about race and identity issues of what it is like to be an Asian American. It talks about the act of a white performers pretending to be Asian for a role ala Rex Harrison in The King and I or Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's. One of the pivotal jumping points of the script is the Miss Saigon casting scandal in the 1990's. All American theatre students are subjected to hearing long tedious lectures in college about this scandal. Hwang took both real life experience and fictionalized characters and blended them together into the world of Yellow Face. It is not a "ha ha" comedy but an intellectual one. You will have to sit in the theatre and think for two and half hours. This might not be the best show to come to rip roaring drunk. It's not that kind of show, and it is LONG, eat before hand!

Review- The Truth About Lying- HK Art Festival

I was really excited to this show. It was the winner for Best Script, Best Performance and Leading Actress of 2010. This was also the winner of a lot of awards at the 2011 Hong Kong Drama Awards. Playwright, Wong Wing-sze was the recipient of one of the largest arts grants in Hong Kong to help produce this piece. I wanted to see what the board was awarding the money to and what all the buzz was about. Expectations were set high for this show; I paid close to 400HKD to see it and I wanted to see a good show. People were really talking it up as one of the best things to come along in local Hong Kong drama in the past few years. My local "Canto gay" and I went to see it; in case I didn't understand some of the jokes I thought it best to have an interpreter.

Presented by Hong Kong Arts Festival in partnership with author/director Wong Wing-sze it was supposed to be a dramatic look at relationships both work/romantic from the view of the protagonist, Emily who is working at a high power law firm. I can understand the plight of the working woman in HK as an interesting concept for a piece but the story line seemed predictable at best.

Design wise it was beautiful. I though the set design was good and I thought the lighting design was well conceived. I think the use of working lights hanging above the actors as part of the set was rather ingenious as it seemed to put a feng shui feel onto the entirety of the set. Costumes were chic and simple. Yours basic HK business wear, suits, heels and ties. People looked expensive, people looked like those fancy people you see walking around IFC at 11am on a Thursday. All the great design in the world couldn't save it in my mind...

Review- The Dining Room- ACT Hong Kong

"We don't have dining rooms in Hong Kong so I think I'm missing some of the jokes."- Sam

"I liked the kid's birthday party best."- Michelle

"I don't particularly care for the script."- Clara

"I liked the last ten minutes of Act 1"- Jeremy (Who was VERY late to Act One) *burn*

"Very sweet."- Natalie

"Sara is great!"- Matthew

The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney is like indulging in a fancy 12 course meal. There are little plates, big plates, intermessos and sweet treats. There is a palette cleanser or two. There is sure to be great company to help pass the time and a lot of booze (hopefully). Sure, there are some courses that are better than others but overall the meal is made up by a great cast of characters who weave great stories together over the hours. I enjoyed my evening with ACT as they took on Gurney's award winning play. Of course, there are things that can always be improved upon but overall it was money well spent as you could tell that the production crew spent a hell of lot of time (and money) on that set and props list. Only the Saturday matinee has tickets left! So if you're available Saturday at 3pm I highly recommend you get your butts down to box office and pick them up! It's worth the money as it is a very high quality show production wise.

Let's talk production...

Review- Matchbox Concept Hostel- Singapore

I am currently sitting in my hostel typing on a laptop that was given to me to use for free. I am smelling of free designer shampoos, lotions and shower gels that were included in the price of my stay at Matchbox Concept Hostel. I love this hostel, next time I am in Singapore I will stay here again mainly because of the beautiful staff girls! They were a pleasure to hang out with, they went beyond the call of duty to help a customer and they helped you with all your direction needs.

The beanbag loft! It now has swings!

Review- ODD Showcase- ODD

Most of the time when you see a show in Hong Kong you grumble about the ticket prices. This was certainly not the case tonight. Tonight I got to see a great FREE piece of NEW theatre created by local artists that was better than a lot of the stuff I've paid over 200 bucks to see. New theatre should always be celebrated because it's difficult to create from nothing. I give serious credit to the ODD Group for the hard work they put into the show tonight. Sure, I didn't like all of the pieces but I thought all of them came from valid places and were entertaining.

Review- One World- World Family

I was invited to see a Theatre for Youth production called One World English Carnival. I am a Children's Theatre Director by profession so I can have a good time and see a kids show! The show was presented this weekend at Polytech University at the Jockey Club Auditorium. Tickets were really cheap and each child was presented with a souvenir tambourine! (I didn't get one but I survived...)

Before I get into the review, I would like to apologize for any mis-spellings in the names of the cast during this review. There was no program given out to me so I am unable to double check my spellings! Thanks for your understanding...

Review- Turandot- Hong Kong Ballet

I had the pleasure of going to see Turandot tonight with my pals thanks to the discount tickets I aquired by attending the preview! I was really excited to see this production as the photos of the designs looked amazing and I'm a big opera person. All and all, the show was amazing although I can't say the same for the venue, the Cultural Center in TST. We will get to that later but first onto the production.

Review- Rabbit Hole- HK Rep

Hk Rep took on David Lindsay Abaire's Rabbit Hole this weekend. They had to add extra shows because the show sold out so fast so I was excited to see what all the fuss was about. Abaire's script is about the after effects of losing a child. I have read the play before and seen the (terrible) movie with Nicole Kidman; so I didn't need to have surtitles as I remembered what was going to happen. I always make sure to re-read shows before I see them in a foreign language. It's very a interesting experience to see plays in a language you don't understand, it makes you wonder about how to show has changed in the translation process.

Review- Hip Hop and Beyond

Of course, I am 100% biased on this review. I do not deny this because I am incredibly proud of watching this show. I am the drama director at LKK in Sai Ying Pun and my students invited me to their hip hop dance display at the Soho Escalator to support them. But I thought this exhibition/workshop was really awesome particularly when you considered the student's age. Most of the performers were between the ages of 14-16, all are local students at a school I work with and they can "FUCKING DANCE!" (There is no other way to state this fact...)

Wanted- Cantonese Speaking Reviewer

HK_Arts has been voted one of the Top 10 blogs of Hong Kong this year! Hooray! We feel it time to take the next step and start seeing more local theatre.

At this time all our reviewers are English speakers. We would love to have a Hong Kong Reviewer who can give a better understanding to the Cantonese pieces than our English speakers.

Reviewers are not compensated but are sometimes rewarded with preview tickets. Must have a love of theatre and some English writing ability as we would love to have your reviews in both languages.

Thanks,
Meaghan

Review- Menstruation Twitters- Jockey Club

No audience quotes as I was the only English speaker in the audience! 

(Enjoy the super creepy Disney Short about our bodies and ourselves!)

Menstruation Twitters

HK Jockey Club Creative Arts Center

30 Pak Tin St. Shek Kip Mei

Tickets through URBTIX

March 1st- 4th, 8pm and 3pm on Sunday, 100HKD

Review- Fool la la!- All Theatre Art Association

Presented by All Theatre Art Association, Fool la la! is a an avant guarde, super fun production about a clown going on a journey! Who doesn't love clowns or adventure?!It's dark in the way Cirque is a little dark, fun and beautifully designed. Presented at the Hk Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei it is TOTALLY worth the journey on the MTR. I had a really good time at this show!
(I know you expats don't like to leave the safety of the island, but do it for this show!)

If you don't know anything about the All Theatre Arts Asssociation here it is
All Theatre Art Association (ATAA) is an international multimedia production company founded in 2004 by Hoi Chiu and Maggie Blue O'Hara.
ATAA creats original shows and tours internationally at Arts Festivals, with appearances in Mainland, Macau, Taiwan, England, Singapore, Thailand, Korea and Canada.