Linear Grace

Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani's work is marked by elongated shapes and linear qualities - styles that subsequently blossomed into the cubist and surrealist movements as spearheaded by artists such as Picasso and Brancusi. Modigliani died in 1920, aged 35. Linear Grace is 21 drawings and two sculptures. University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong, 94 Bonham Rd. Free. Inquiries: 2241 5500. Jan 29 to Feb 16

Stage

Living Memory

Toys are rarely taken seriously in art. The Canadian theatre troupe Les Deux Mondes is on a mission to change this with Living Memory. It tells the story of a girl recalling her childhood and combines the use of video projections and sound effects. Tomorrow and Friday, 8pm. Saturday, 2.30pm. City Hall, Central. $100-$160 Urbtix. Inquiries: 2268 7323

Between Life And Death

A reading of Between Life And Death - written by Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian. A moving monologue about a woman's pained relationship with her family is ably assisted by director Tang Shu-wing's dark, Kafka-esque setting. In English. Tomorrow and Saturday, 9.15pm; Saturday and Sunday, 4.15pm. McAulay Studio, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Wan Chai. $130, Ticketek. Inquiries: 2576 6505

Musa Gitana

Flamenco goes down well in Hong Kong - especially performances with sizzling emotion and Carmen-esque storylines. Paco Pena's latest piece is just that: Musa Gitana (or The Gypsy Muse) revolves around a love triangle, with the male protagonist torn between true love with an attractive Romani or an arranged marriage with an aristocrat. Any doubts about cliches will be pacified by intense choreography and Pena's virtuosity on the guitar. Tomorrow-Sunday, 7.30pm. Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall. $100-$300, Urbtix. Inquiries: 2734 9009

Kubert Leung

Kubert Leung is probably the only person in Hong Kong who could quote Barthes and Burroughs one moment and write songs for Canto-pop starlets Yumiko and Mango the next. A graduate in film studies and member of the now-defunct local band Life Exhibition, Leung showcases his new solo album and the songs he wrote for others in a concert cheekily (or defiantly) titled Secession And Sedition. His starry cast of guests: Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, Candy Lo Hau-yam, ex-Beyond frontman Wong Ka-keung (formerly of Beyond) and Jun Kung. Tomorrow, 8pm. Sunbeam Theatre, 423 King's Rd, North Point. $230, $150. Tickets from Monitor Records, 4 Tak Shing St, Jordan. Inquiries: 2782 3562

Film festivals

Chinese Independents

The festival of independent cinema and videos from the mainland continues with Two Hearts (tomorrow, 7.30pm), which follows two young women - one a student ready for studies in Canada, the other a sex-line operator trying to go home - during their last days in Beijing before they leave for other shores. Meanwhile, Du Haibin's Under The Skyscraper (tomorrow, 9.30pm), is a documentary on two estate agents who live an affluent yet highly monotonous life. $50/$30 Ticketek. Lim Por Yen Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Wan Chai. Inquiries: 2824 5329

Archival Treasures, Spring 2003

The Hong Kong Film Archives delivers more gems from its annals in a celebration of classic Chinese films - all painstakingly restored to their former technicolour glory. Though made in 1975, King Hu's The Valiant Ones (Saturday, 2.30pm) has remained the benchmark for the martial-arts film genre with its emphasis on valiant chivalry and ballet-like choreography. Orioles Banished From The Flowers (Saturday, 5pm) sees legendary singer-actress Zhou Xuan in a romantic comedy about two bickering neighbours falling for each other. Zhou assumes her usual tragedy-driven role in An All-Consuming Love (Saturday, 7.15pm). $30, Urbtix. Hong Kong Film Archive Cinema, 50 Lei King Rd, Sai Wan Ho. Inquiries: 2739 2139

Sci-fi Voyage

The Film Programmes Office's second Community Film Series continues its tour of foreign classics into less central regions around Hong Kong, this time with sci-fi as its theme. The restored 2001 version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis (Saturday, 2.30pm; Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre Theatre) continues to evoke awe. Its dark take on humanity in an alienating, machine-driven future is still as frighteningly realistic as it was back in 1927. Terry Gilliam's Brazil (Sunday, 2.30pm, Hong Kong Film Archive Cinema) provides an interesting counterpoint to Lang's masterpiece, an Orwellian 1984-esque satire about human life in a world dominated by overpowering technology and political authoritarianism. $40/$20, Urbtix. Inquiries: 2734 2900

German Film Forum

Made by a German, about a Russian, who sees England as his dreamland - England is the strangest of cinematic beasts, chosen by the Goethe Institut for its monthly screening. Achim von Borries' debut feature, England, portrays the troubled journey of Valeri, a former volunteer at Chernobyl who hopes to reach the white cliffs of Dover before he dies of radiation sickness. It follows Valeri and his brave attempts to outrun destiny and death, taking him across iced-over seas and fortress-like boundaries. Saturday, 7.30pm. Hong Kong Space Museum Lecture Hall, Tsim Sha Tsui. $40/$20, Urbtix. Inquiries: 2734 9009

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