The upcoming theatre productions and stage performances in Hong Kong and Macau

This month marks the Hong Kong debut of ‘Corps extrêmes’, a show of extreme sports and dance by Rachid Ouramdane that has been named one of the best dance performances of 2023 by The New York Times. 10 talented artists, including acclaimed Italian highliner Luca Chiarva and American climber Ann Raber Cocheril, will explore the human desire for weightlessness by leaping, twirling, flying, and scaling walls. The production is also enhanced with projections, spoken word, and a musical score that will probably put the fear of vertigo in you. Tickets are available from $320 to $580.

The internationally acclaimed Cirque du Soleil is coming to town on the first stop of their Asia tour – this will be the troupe’s first appearance in Hong Kong since 2018. Expect to see high-flying acrobatics and whimsical characters amidst gorgeous sets, highlighted by the lavish costumes and powerful music that Cirque du Soleil has always been known for.

This new production also includes a solo aerial silk performance, a repertoire of Icarian games, and a high-octane diabolo act with a triple world champion – all never seen before in Hong Kong. Tickets run from $450 to $1,998 – VIP ticket holders can enjoy the exclusive bar and appetisers an hour before the show starts and during intermission. 

The Hong Kong Ballet (HKB) presents a new production of Giselle, starring a lineup of world-renowned guest dancers and accompanied by the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong under the baton of Fayçal Karoui. HKB’s artistic director Septime Webre and South African ballet artist Charla Glenn team up to breathe new life into this story of love, betrayal, and redemption, for nine performances only at the end of this month.

This new show will feature beautiful costumes and sets by the designer Jérôme Kaplan, including a castle inspired by the Château de Pierrefond and cottages modeled after Marie Antoinette’s Hameau de la Reine hamlet at Versailles. Giselle is to be staged on Fridays to Sundays from May 30 to June 8 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

The Sunbeam Theatre, one of Hong Kong’s last bastions of Cantonese opera, has recently closed down, but at least there’s still the Xiqu Centre to carry the torch of Chinese operatic shows. Curated and directed by the legendary Cantonese opera artist Law Ka-ying, the Tea House Theatre Experience programme is designed for newcomers to Cantonese opera, featuring show excerpts and songs ranging from romance to martial arts. Highlights of the season include ‘Rain-soaked Clothes’ from A Mirror Seal, ‘Love and Struggle’ from The Warrior’s Marriage, and operatic performances in archaic Mandarin. Audiences will also be served traditional tea and dim sum during the performances, a hark back to Hong Kong’s early 20th-–century tea houses.

Tickets run from $300 to $342, inclusive of food and drink.

Italian restaurant Casa Sophia Loren has launched an entertainment programme that blends high-energy theatre with the flavours of southern Italy. Inspired by the 1955 romantic comedy Scandal in Sorrento (starring Sophia Loren, of course), this theatrical supper will run on the last Saturday of every month, featuring dancers playing the role of fishermen’s wives, dynamic routines, and sultry vocals. Guests are invited to join in the revelry or, if you’re not a fan of audience participation, soak in the enchantment from their tables. Tickets go for $888 per person, which includes appetisers, mains, and a shared dessert platter, with the option to add on a three-hour free-flow package.

Maggie Choo’s cabaret bar is many things – an antique shop front, a speakeasy-style bar, an after-dark venue with live performances – but now it’s finally living up to its name as a cabaret spot. They’re bringing their first-ever cabaret show to Central’s nightlife scene, promising live vocalists, a jazz band, and a troupe of international dancers.

With Maggie Choo’s dark wood interiors, velvet drapings, and dramatic spiral stairs, the bar is a great setting for this kind of sultry performance. Audiences can expect a range of dance styles including jazz, ballet, and of course, classic cabaret, performed in tailor-made costumes and iconic cabaret elements like top hats. Performers weave fluidly through the crowd and guests are encouraged to participate in an interactive blend of elegance, sensuality, and humour that defines the art of cabaret – and, as with most things at Maggie Choo’s, boasting an Asian twist.

This new cabaret show will take place every Thursday from 9pm to 11pm. More show dates in the week will be added from March onwards.