Outreach programme “1 Night! Shakespeare”
The 27th Macao Arts Festival (MAF), organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, has been concluded successfully. This edition of the MAF was themed “Time” and had “Reshape your Imagination. Experience the Spirit of the Times” as slogan, presenting 27 excellent shows as well as an outreach programme, in a total of over 100 activities, earning an enthusiastic response from local and overseas audiences. The overall percentage of ticket sales reached 87%. This year marked the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu. The 27th MAF highlighted” programmes in tribute to the two dramatists, appealing to both theatre and literature lovers and each of these shows was highly appreciated by the audience. The children’s show The Assembly of Animals, using objects in our daily lives to create animals full of vitality, was well-received by families ; the show Disabled Theater, performed by actors with cognitive disabilities, about the representation of social inclusion, raised the public’s discussion and deliberation; the closing performance Macbeth, an adaptation of Verdi’s work with the same name in the form of musical play, revealed the human desires of Shakespeare’s story, exploring Africa’s tribal conflicts. The musical earned a positive response from the public for its contents and form of expression. Several shows were highly sought after, namely the opening show A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which tickets were sold out on the first day of sales. Additional performances of the following shows were offered in order to meet public demand: the children’s show The Assembly of Animals, the musical performance The Fairy Tales from the World of Chaos, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), the children’s puppet play Circles by Step Out and the concert Journey to the Last Frontier - Concert. Other free outdoor performances also brought the arts into the community, including Glide, the Outdoor Performing Arts Showcase and the interactive theatre Micro-Shakespeare, which attracted over 2500 people, allowing various types of audience to experience these innovative performances. In addition to the performances, several outreach activities including talks, masterclasses, workshops, backstage tours, exhibitions, school performances, art critique, accessibility services, movie screenings and post-show talks, also attracted nearly 1500 people. In “1 Night! Shakespeare”, the audience could experience Shakespeare’s poetic charm and romance through the eyes, ears and taste buds; the “Into the Wild” – Workshop by members of Theater HORA offered an artistic workshop to residents with cognitive disabilities; the online platform “Simple Critique” allowed residents to comment each performance in a convenient way. Furthermore, in order to support and promote the development of local cultural and creative industries, this edition of the MAF invited local young illustrators to design souvenirs themed as Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu, which achieved satisfactory sales. This edition of the MAF was strongly supported by the Macao Government Tourism Office, TDM – Teledifusão de Macau, Air Macau and MGM Macau; in cooperation with five banks and credit card issuers as well as six media outlets, a variety of promotions were offered to promote the Festival. Media groups and cultural commentators from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia were also invited to attend the performances in Macao and report the shows. The organiser also invited consuls-general of various countries accredited to Hong Kong and Macao to participate in the MAF, allowing them to deepen their knowledge and experiences about the city’s culture. In order to maximise the audience participation in the Festival, promotion and ticket sales services were available at designated venues at the University of Macao, the Institute for Tourism Studies, the Macao University of Science and Technology as well as gaming institutions. The Macao Arts Festival has already become a significant cultural brand of the city; in the coming years, the organiser will continue to programme even more outstanding performances in order to establish a culturally sustainable city.
