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World of performing arts

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World of performing arts
News and reviews of the performing arts – ballet, contemporary dance, opera, theatre, musicals and more – in and around Hong Kong and beyond.
Sir Alistair Spalding at M+ in Hong Kong. He is artistic director and co-CEO of Sadler’s Wells in London. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Sadiq Khan

The world’s burning but ‘people just want to dance’, says Sadler’s Wells co-CEO

How do you make a cultural district out of a dumping ground for fridges? Ask the artistic director of Sadler’s Wells theatre in London.

US, Israel war on Iran

Will the UAE’s art industry be a casualty of the Iran war? Experts weigh in

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Chinese opera troupe’s retelling of ancient love story ends with a ‘brilliant’ surprise

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | No heroes, no villains: a finely shaded Eugene Onegin in Hong Kong

National Theatre Brno’s Eugene Onegin at the Hong Kong Arts Festival centred on Tatyana and featured lush music and a minimalist set.

Curtain call by the National Theatre Brno after its performance of Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin at the 2026 Hong Kong Arts Festival on March 21. Photo: courtesy of Hong Kong Arts Festival
Music

Nicholas Tse, EXO among top music and art events coming up in Greater Bay Area

Jane Zhang concert, Art Week Shenzhen and French musical Don Juan also coming to Shenzhen, Macau and Guangzhou in March, April and May 2026.

Comedians and comedy

Making jokes in Hong Kong is a serious business

From TakeOut Comedy Club to Backstage Comedy and open mic nights, Hong Kong’s stand-up scene is growing, thanks to some dedicated producers.

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Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s CCO plays sumptuous Mozart at Hong Kong Arts Festival

The Hong Kong debut of Gardiner’s Constellation Choir and Orchestra was impressive in its attention to detail and colourful musicality.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner and his Constellation Choir and Orchestra performed two Mozart works at the Hong Kong Arts Festival on March 6. This was the Hong Kong debut of Gardiner’s new ensemble, founded in 2024. Photo: Hong Kong Arts Festival
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Stunning beauty and power in Hong Kong performance of Caravaggio

Roberto Bolle dazzled among a cast of seasoned and upcoming stars in this ballet about Caravaggio’s art and violent life.

Tristan und Isolde is a challenging opera to stage. Yuval Sharon did it anyway

Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is one of opera’s hardest to put on, but Yuval Sharon – who makes his Met debut – loves a challenge.

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Fame and celebrity

Timothee Chalamet faces the music for saying ‘no one cares’ about opera, ballet

Performance groups around the world clapped back at the Hollywood star’s remarks, while a German minister invited him to watch a show.

US actor Timothee Chalamet poses on the red carpet at the Bafta Film Awards in London in February. Photo: EPA
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Stella Cole Quartet’s delightful delivery of jazz and film classics in Hong Kong

Smooth, playful, dramatic and teasing, the Stella Cole Quartet gave its Xiqu Centre audience a night of all-American nostalgic glamour.

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Stella Cole performs with the Stella Cole Quartet at the Tea House Theatre at Hong Kong’s Xiqu Centre, in the West Kowloon Cultural District, on March 3, 2026. Photo: Kenny Cheung / Premiere Performances of Hong Kong
On Our Radar

The Hong Kong Arts Festival is back. These are the shows to book first

Tradition meets tech as stages both real and virtual host dance, music and immersive magic.

TV shows and streaming video

From Heated Rivalry to Two Strangers, how romcoms are taking over TV and theatre

A clutch of new romantic comedies are warming hearts this winter across various media. But why are they proving so popular?

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | She seduced some of the most powerful men. A ballet tries to tell her story

Despite some excellent dancing, Ballet Nacional de España’s La Bella Otero fails to do justice to the notorious Belle Époque star’s story.

Noelia Ruiz plays the title role in Ballet Nacional de España’s La Bella Otero, performed at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on February 27 as part of Hong Kong Arts Festival. Photo: Tony Luk
What's hot in Korea

This award-winning playwright rejected Hollywood… for a Korean zombie musical

Jethro Compton shares why his choice to adapt musical The Last Man for UK viewers is about ‘experiences’ rather than advancing his career.

Jethro Compton attends the 2025 Laurence Olivier Awards after winning the best new musical award for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The playwright says his new role, as a dramaturge on Korean zombie play The Last Man, is about “having new experiences and working with interesting people”. Photo: Getty Images
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Hong Kong group brings ancient Silk Road murals’ musical depictions to life

The Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble’s musical compositions are inspired by ancient artworks from China’s Mogao Caves.

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US-China relations

Exclusive | Hong Kong pianist brings music – and a message of openness – to Washington

Fresh from his Cliburn win, Sham says music can bridge divides as he tours the US amid geopolitical tensions and decoupling debate.

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Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Trump is abducted by aliens and has Chinese ‘twin’ in chaotic Cantonese opera

Showing in Hong Kong, Trump on Show 4.0 combines political satire and surreal Sino-US commentary but feels like a ‘paper tiger’ with no bite.

Elvina Kong (left) performs as Japanese politician Sanae Takaichi and Lung Koon-tin as US president Donald Trump on the opening night of the Trump on Show 4.0 at Sha Tin Town Hall in Hong Kong. Photo: Contemporary Drama Association
Performing arts in Hong Kong

‘Unconventional bodies’: inclusive dance team’s upcoming Hong Kong show

Unusual Symptoms’ experimental dance project Harmonia challenges audience biases about the human body.

Wellness

Hong Kong Ballet and Pure Fitness join forces to offer new exercise programme

The dance and strength training crossover aims to dispel the perception of ballet as an inaccessible and elite art form.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Hong Kong concert where audience can walk around and see musicians up close

Neither audience members nor performers will be confined to their seats at the concert from the inclusive music ensemble Paraorchestra.

Audience members get an up-close view of the UK’s Paraorchestra performing The Nature of Why at a previous concert. The orchestra will bring the immersive show to Hong Kong’s Kwai Tsing Theatre in late February 2026. Photo: No Limits/Dom Moore
Fame and celebrity

First, Ralph Fiennes played Eugene Onegin in a movie. Now he directs the opera

Fiennes made his opera directing debut this week at the Paris Opera’s ornate Palais Garnier with his unique take on Eugene Onegin.

Ralph Fiennes attends the 2025 British Academy of Film and Television Awards in London, Britain, in 2025. The actor has made his opera directing debut with a cinematic take on Eugene Onegin. Photo: Reuters
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | HK Phil brings Mahler’s Symphony No 7 to life in energetic, eerie concert

Singaporean conductor Kahchun Wong skilfully led the rendition of Mahler’s complex work in a show brimming with soul and spooky eccentricity.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | The National Ballet of China return to Hong Kong with a dazzling Giselle

Led by prima ballerina Qiu Yunting, whose dancing was exquisite, this purists’ version of Giselle was only marred by the recorded music.

On Our Radar

Beare’s Premiere Music Festival 2026 bids farewell to Hong Kong

As the curtain falls on the city’s principal chamber music event, the stellar line-up of musicians promises to send it off on a high note.

The Miro Quartet performs at the Beare’s Premiere Music Festival in 2024. Photo: courtesy PPHK
Channing Tatum

Chiselled abs and sex positivity: Magic Mike Live to heat up New York

Featuring ripped male dancers, the stage spin-off of Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike film franchise is a ‘dance spectacular with a sexy twist’.

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Channing Tatum (centre) throws fake money after announcing plans to bring the “Magic Mike Live” show to New York in October 2026. Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Chinese culture

World’s first Chinese rosewood cello stars in Hong Kong exhibition

Made over six months from a 200-year-old piece of Chinese rosewood, or huanghuali, the cello is now on show at Sheung Wan’s Liang Yi Museum.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Singaporean musician living with OCD uses toy pianos to tell her story

Margaret Leng Tan talks about weird instruments and ‘the magic of timing’, following her Hong Kong performance of ‘Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep’.

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