13 Tongues - Dancers: LEE Yin-ying (left), SU I-chieh (right) (Photo Credit: LEE Chia-yeh)
The 29th Macao Arts Festival (MAF), organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, will be held between late April and May. This edition is themed “Origin”, which symbolises the “spring of life”, and explores a wide range of topics to broaden the audiences’ thinking about life.
On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, this edition of the MAF invited the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre to present the play Das Kapital, a new version of Karl Marx’s grand classic which analyses the trajectory of capital, incorporates Macao’s elements and illustrates the duality of capital making use of black humour. The performance 13 Tongues, a captivating dance, music and folklore show by internationally renowned dance group “Cloud Gate 2”, closes the festival. Contemporary Japanese playwright Tadashi Suzuki presents the play The Trojan Women which showcases the misery and desolation in the post-war period through traditional Japanese visual elements and his artistic heritage; renowned Belgian art group Peeping Tom presents the physical theatre play 32 rue Vandenbranden, inspired by the movie The Ballad of Narayama; this show incorporates movements of daily life in the dance, alternating poetic states such as fear, loneliness and compassion, and presenting them on stage in a true and open manner.
In addition, the MAF commissioned Singaporean group Nine Years Theatre the co-production of the play Pissed Julie, an acclaimed work by Swedish playwright August Strindberg, which will be presented with an ironic touch by actors from both Macao and Singapore. Macao veteran Cantonese opera actor Chu Chan Wa continues to collaborate with local Cantonese opera artists and rising stars to present the moving Cantonese opera Dream of the Red Chamber, allowing the audience to appreciate works by great masters.
More information about the 29th Macao Arts Festival will be announced in the Festival’s webpage at www.icm.gov.mo/fam, or the respective page on Facebook and on IC’s WeChat account.
