The 27th Macao Arts Festival

May 6, 2016

The 27th Macao Arts Festival (MAF), organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, is held from 30 April to 29 May 2016. This edition of the MAF carries “Time” as the theme and “Reshape your Imagination. Experience the Spirit of the Times” as its slogan, conveying the message that the performing arts have undergone thousands of years of condensation, development and transformation. The MAF presents 27 excellent shows and artistic exhibitions, including an outreach programme, in a total of over 100 activities that bring the audience into the folds of the Chinese and Western cultures.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of the western world literary giant William Shakespeare and of Ming Dynasty’s famed Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu. The MAF will present “Thematic Highlights” in tribute to these two virtuosos.

The Festival kicks off with Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, rendered by the Shakespeare Theatre Company from USA, featuring stunning 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. The event also 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.

In order to develop an even broader perspective of the performing arts, the MAF introduces innovative and cross-disciplinary international performances: ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’, Samuel Beckett’s famed work directed and performed by internationally acclaimed theatre and director Robert Wilson; Jérôme Bel and HORA’s Disabled Theatre from Switzerland, performed by actors with cognitive disabilities questioning the contemporary society; the abstract dance pieces ‘6’ & ‘7’ by extraordinary choreographer Tao Ye and TAO Dance Theatre that 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 turns the conscious when creating a poetic space; and the concert ‘Coppia’, an amazing journey in which dance and music are performed in a tennis court.

The MAF is dedicated to promoting local creativity, transmitting traditional culture and the arts to the community. In this context, this edition of MAF features ‘Shelf Life’, a combination of visual arts and installation; the musical performance ‘The Fairy Tales from the World of Chaos’; the uplifting experimental performance ‘Journey to the Last Frontier – Concert’; the satiric play ‘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 Cantonese Opera elements. The list is also joined by Yue opera Lu You and Tang Wan, performed by a top female Yue opera troupe from Mainland China, the Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe, presenting the poetic style and aesthetic spirit of the region south of the Yangtze River.

There are also several family shows lined up such as the fantastic ‘In Chants’ that is 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’, an interdisciplinary performance featured in the Outdoor Performing Arts Showcase that promotes arts in the community; and the children’s puppet play ‘Circles’, which explores the issues of marine conservation, among others. These, together with concerts by the Macao Orchestra and the Macao Chinese Orchestra, including two large-scale thematic exhibitions, reveal the diversity and richness of culture in Macau.

This edition of the MAF has the support of the Macao Government Tourism Office, TDM – Teledifusão de Macau, Air Macau and MGM Macau.

For more information, browse www.icm.gov.mo/fam/27