Everything you need to know about the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival

Hong Kong Arts Month is almost upon us, and one of the highlights of this annual arts and culture celebration held in March is the long-standing Hong Kong Arts Festival, now back for its 54th edition. Running from February 27 to March 27, the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival is connected by a poignant theme of promoting courage, peace, and resilience, and will gather more than 1,100 performers, musicians, and artists to present more than 45 distinct programmes in a packed schedule of over 170 performances. 

Here’s a small selection of the highlights and what to look forward to at this year’s Hong Kong Arts Festival, including our picks of which performances shouldn’t be missed.

Music

Without a doubt, one of the most highly anticipated events in the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival programme is Jockey Club InnoArts Series: Kagami by Ryuichi Sakamoto & Tin Drum, a mixed-reality performance honouring the late Japanese composer. From February 27 to March 15, Sakamoto will “return” to the baby grand – in a manner of speaking – through an immersive, tech-driven approach blending motion capture and spatial audio that preserved his presence and piano-playing for attendees to observe through VR headsets, making his final performance a lasting legacy.

With an extensive collection of musical happenings to choose from, it all depends on taste and preference. Not to be missed is the legendary Sir John Eliot Gardiner, who will perform in Hong Kong with the Constellation Choir & Orchestra for two nights only from March 6 to 7, and indulge audiences with his celebrated interpretations of Mozart’s Requiem, K626 and Great Mass in C minor, K427 and Bach’s Mass in B minor, BWV232.

Dance

From ballet and contemporary to flamenco and more, the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival is showcasing movement like never before. Catch the Asia premiere of La Bella Otero from February 27 to March 1, presented by the Ballet Nacional de España. Director Rubén Olmo reimagines the fascinating life and times of 19th-century Spanish artist Carolina Otero, replete with stunning costumes, breathtaking choreography, and powerful music.

From March 27 to 29, director Li Xing will bring modern flair to the Chinese dance production Dream in the Peony Pavilion, working with talented performers from the Suzhou Song and Dance Theatre to unfold this classic love story on stage. Based on Tang Xianzu’s acclaimed Ming-dynasty play, The Peony Pavilion (1598), Xing’s take on the tale will showcase thrilling ensemble dances and poetic staging evoking eternal romance.

Theatre

Classics from all epochs are experiencing a moment in popular culture, and the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival is feeding into this interest with Jockey Club East-meets-West Series: Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, a unique Chinese-language music-theatre adaptation of Aristophanes’ ancient Greek comedy. In a humorous take on “make love, not war”, the play follows titular character Lysistrata on her radical quest to unique womenfolk and strike against the violence of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta.

Meanwhile, German theatre director Sebastian Kaiser will team up with the HKAPA for a pared-back interpretation of Liu Yichang’s novel, The Drunkard, a groundbreaking work known for its stream-of-consciousness prose. Using an “ultra-poor, hyper-mobile theatre” philosophy, Kaiser’s approach breaks down traditional boundaries and walls for an unexpected experience that toes the line between awake and dreaming.

Opera

Western opera and Chinese opera are sharing the spotlight this year at the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival, with productions like Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin by the famed National Theatre Brno from the Czech Republic and Red Wedding Bed by the Fujian Province Liyuan Opera Inheritance Centre among the diverse offerings. 

Alexander Pushkin’s influential novel, exploring a bittersweet story of unrequited love, gets a dramatic revival through a Central European lens, while the ancient Chinese art form of Liyuan opera, boasting a history of 900 years, is lovingly preserved through passionate performance and minimalist aesthetics.

Circus

For something whimsical, the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival is also hosting a number of acrobatics and circus performances. Catch Focasa and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre founder Lin Hwai-min’s collaboration, One to One Hundred: A Brave Journey, for a spellbinding experience that combines stunts and storytelling for wow moments.

Canadian troupe The 7 Fingers (Les 7 Doigts) will present Duel Reality, a blend of contemporary circus antics, theatre arts, and Shakespearean romance and drama to thrill audiences from March 20 to 22, performing Romeo and Juliet in a completely novel way.

How much are tickets to the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival?

Urbtix is the official ticketing partner for the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival, offering a range of ticketing solutions for the different scheduled shows. Click here for more information on specific pricing and availability; standard and student tickets are offered, as well as preferential pricing for people with disabilities or wheelchair users.

See the full programme for the 54th Hong Kong Arts Festival here.

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