Arts Festival features 25 shows, MOP4m budget cut

The 28th Macau Arts Festival, one of the biggest cultural events in the region, will feature 25 shows and exhibitions as well as more than 100 activities in total. The budget of the event stands at MOP23 million, MOP4 million less than in 2016.

The festival will be held from April 28 until May 31, taking the concept of “Heterotopia” as its theme. Heterotopia was a term discussed by the philosopher Michel Foucault to describe “spaces of otherness” that are simultaneously
physical and mental. Instances of this can include making a phone call or seeing oneself in a mirror.

During a press conference yesterday, the esoteric theme was explained by Leung Hio Ming, president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), who took to the stage to introduce the first large-scale event over which he will preside in his new position as IC chief, a role that he assumed last month.

“Following the exploration of the multiplicity of time of [the festival] last year, this edition takes ‘Heterotopia’ as the theme and explores the possibilities of space,” explained Leung. “[This is] a heterogeneous space that exists in the real world, whose existence is both strange and familiar.”

Asked about this year’s theme and how it followed from the previous edition, which dealt with the concept of “time”, Leung said: “The art festival does have a continuity in its development and planning.”

“My colleague and I planned almost five years ago four different themes for the coming years: ‘time’, ‘space’, ‘localization’ and ‘human’. By the time we get to ‘human’, that will be the 30th anniversary of the [Macau] Arts Festival. Therefore you can see, I do plan, way in advance,” he added. “For the International Music Festival, we plan 10 years ahead of time… so everything has is with a continuity.”

He also said that many works from China have been brought to this year’s “grand annual cultural event,” in addition to international productions and local performances, all of which will contribute to an exhibition of “multiple dimensions of culture.”

Among the highlighted pieces in this year’s edition is a “soundscape theater play”, titled “Back to the Catastrophic Typhoon of 1874” and based on the novel of the same name, that was awarded at the Macau Literature Competition.

“The Nether” portrays the seemingly limitless dividing line between the real and virtual worlds, while emerging Portuguese choreographer, Marco da Silva Ferreira, presents the ballet “Hu(r)mano”.

From China, the National Peking Opera Company will bring an abridged adaptation of the of the classic “Lady Anguo”, while the Macau Kaifong Cantonese Opera Juvenile’s Troupe takes to the stage the Cantonese opera, “The Tale of Lady General”.

Also during the festival, the Macau Orchestra will present the concert “Resonance through Space-Time”, while the Macau Chinese Orchestra will perform “The Soul of Macau – Peking Opera Concert”.

Moreover, a number of non-traditional shows and performances will also be held throughout the festival including “The Art of Zhang Daqian”, “Constellation – Works by Nicolas Delaroche” and “Debris – Works by Alexandre Farto aka Vhils”, with the aim of broadening artistic experiences in Macau.

Play and Play

For the opening show of the 28th Macau Arts Festival, the internationally acclaimed Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company will present an inventive interpretation of classical music through its experimental works “Story/” and “Ravel: Landscape or Portrait?” at the festival.

Sometimes dubbed “the father of American modern dance”, Bill T. Jones’ company will offer debut performances as the opening pieces.

In “Story/”, dancers employ a random series of movement accompanied by Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No.14 (“Death and the Maiden”) to “craft a conversation between rationality and sensibility,” according to the program guide.

Meanwhile, in “Ravel: Landscape or Portrait?”, the dancers explore music’s complicated internal logic with body movements that are integrated with the stage for a consistent aesthetic.

The U.S. company is famous for its inventive choreography, for which Bill T. Jones has been awarded several New York Dance and Performance Awards. In the year 2000, The Dance Heritage Coalition named Jones “an irreplaceable dance treasure.”

The dual shows will be held in one sitting at the Macau Cultural Center’s Grand Auditorium at 8 p.m. on April 28.

The Seagull

In “The Seagull”, three women and six men discuss literature and love throughout a four-
act play written by one of Russia’s most famous playwrights, Anton Chekhov.

The play attempts to offer a glimpse into everyday life in Russia… except that this rendition sets the story in Iceland instead. The plot takes place at a luxurious lakeside summer house in Iceland with parties and karaoke, “yet the elements of suppression, paranoia, anger, desire and love remain,” notes the festival guide.

Staged by Latvian-born director Yana Ross together with the Reykjavik City Theater, the update to the well-known story presents a truly Icelandic perspective.

Awarded Best Director in the International Festival Kontakt of Torun, Poland in 2016, Ross is an acclaimed theater director in Scandinavian nations for her unique style.

The two and a half hour performance will be held on May 27 and 28 to conclude the festival, with an additional post-show talk on May 27.

Stormy Luck

Patuá-language drama group, Doci Papiaçam di Macau (“sweet language of Macau”) will present a brand new show this year during the Macau Arts Festival (May 19 and 20), as they have done in previous editions.

This year’s story, titled “Stormy Luck”, will detail the journey of Bernardo – a man who is incessantly plagued by misfortune. One day, Bernardo is the lucky recipient of a winning Hong Kong lottery ticket, however a violent typhoon threatening the two SARs prevents him from traveling to claim his prize.

Doci Papiaçam di Macau describes itself as “a group of local Macanese actors, [pointing] out social ills via sarcasm and condemnation,” according to a summary published in the Macau Arts Festival catalogue.

“[The content] combines current affairs with humanistic feelings, reflecting the lifestyle of Macau and provoking people to think deeply,” it continued, promising a truly “local flavor”.

The theater group has been attempting for over 20 years to preserve the region’s unique dialect which is a relic of Portuguese colonialism, mixing parts of Malay, Spanish, Canarese, English and Cantonese.