The annual Macau City Fringe Festival returns, with a host of awesome displays all over town. Nik Addams picks the best shows of the bunch, from funerals to fights
Make no mistake – Macao’s status as a regional creative hub is steadily growing. Another feather in the proverbial cap is the return this January of the Macau City Fringe Festival. This edition, the 16th all up, is showcasing a seriously exciting range of local and international acts all over town, performing dance works, interactive theatre productions, musical performances and much more. We’ve picked just a few of the highlights for you to add to your calendar.
For the full programme, head to macaucityfringe.gov.mo.
A Dutch and Chinese co-production, 5 Women tells the story of five close friends and their secrets and repressed emotions regarding themselves and each other, through the medium of dance. Taking place over the course of one evening when they meet for a friend’s birthday, Dutch choreographer Kevin Polak and his dancers let the audience in on a night of revealing emotional truths.
Jan 16-17, 8pm, Macao Art Garden, 265 Avenida do Dr Rodrigo Rodrigues, Macao. Tickets: MOP50.
Inspired by the works of late playwright and last president of Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel, Antiwords (pictured above) is a drama that edges into the absurd, featuring oversized masks and improvisation. The highly physical production, in Czech with English and Cantonese surtitles, examines a meeting between a brewer and a persecuted politician, the latter an alter-ego of the late playwright himself, and has been met with critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic.
Jan 13-14, 9.30pm, Old Court Bldg, Avenida da Praia Grande, Macao. Tickets: MOP50.
This Japanese theatrical production explores one of life’s great unanswerables: what would it be like to attend one’s own funeral? Having captivated audiences around the world, this special performance is taking place at one of Macao’s most important historical sites and takes a deep, dark look at a question with no answer. In Japanese with Chinese surtitles.
Jan 17-18, 8pm, Square of the Ruins of St Paul’s, Macao. Tickets: MOP50.
An interactive performance of music and storytelling written by and starring Irishwomen Catherine Ireton and Grace Kiely, In Good Hands celebrates the rituals of a trip to a hairdressing salon. The audience is invited to the ‘appointment’ at the salon, where they can read magazines, listen to news from the radio and open up to their ‘hairdressers’ and others in the salon, thus exploring the innate human need for sharing and connection.
Jan 14-15, 5pm (Jan 15 only), 8pm (both days), Salon, Edf Jardim Nam Ngon, Rua de Bruxelas, Macao. Tickets: MOP50.
Four Belgian men in suits using their bodies as instruments – what could go wrong? The Magnificent 4 are putting on a rhythmic spectacular for the Fringe, creating choreographed percussive vibes injected with the band’s own quirky brand of humour. They’re also planning a city-wide flash mob on January 14, so be on the look out!
Sun Jan 15, 3pm, Old Court Bldg, Avenida da Praia Grande, Macao. Tickets: MOP50.
Step into the darkness at this adults-only theatrical performance, which encourages its audience to question languages and aesthetics to find other ways to communicate. In this play, a trio of men embark on an intensely physical and emotional dance, set to live music as played by an on-stage DJ.
Jan 13-14, 7.15pm, Old Court Bldg, Avenida da Praia Grande, Macao. Tickets: MOP50.
Choreographed by Candy Kuok from Macao and Nina Dipla from Greece, this site-specific dance work also features music and poetry, taking the audience on a journey of internal awakening. The production explores the harmonious relationship between the human body and the environment through the lens of the endless lifecycle and the ever evolving energy of nature.
Jan 21-22, Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Estrada de Nossa Senhora de Ká Hó, Coloane. Tickets: MOP50.
Director Jenny Mok and visual designer Nip Man Teng explore the nature of plastic through the use of body language and installation art to uncover the connections between the body and fabrics. This two-night performance piece is a follow-up to their acclaimed work Weaving Landscape, which looked at fabric as a medium of creation through a similar philosophical lens.
Jan 21-22, 8pm, Old Court Bldg, Avenida da Praia Grande, Macao. Tickets: MOP50.
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