Jazz musician Herbie Hancock, choreographer Wayne McGregor, saxophonist Grace Kelly (no, not the late actress), Cantopop band RubberBand and a Hong Kong version of musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch – these are just a few must-sees among the 50-plus programmes in the sixth annual performing arts season at the West Kowloon Cultural District, now rebranded WestK, in Hong Kong. “The line-up is the most ambitious to date for the performing arts division,” he says. On August 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25, Hong Kong group On & On Theatre Workshop and WestK are co-presenting a play called With Love, Medea’s Boys , which explores the world of the afterlife from the perspectives of the sons of Greek mythological character Medea and unfolds like a dark fairy tale.
The play is in Cantonese, but English simultaneous translation is available for the August 25 performance. It features dancers moving like deep sea creatures, and plays with darkness and perception. “I saw it first hand in Montpellier.
It was beautiful and brought down the house,” Tam says. Separately from the jazz festival, Grace Kelly will perform on September 25 as part of WestK’s Jazz Signatures series. The Korean-American musician first gained international attention after performing during former US president Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, when she was 16 years old.
Apart from jazz, WestK has three other flagship festivals: the Black Box Chinese Opera Festival, Freespace Dance and the WestK Fun Fest – which .