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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.
Maiko (apprentice geisha) are seen in Kyoto, Japan. An ex-maiko describes how she left the geisha tradition - which she describes as an “extremely abnormal world” - after she says she experienced sexual harassment, physical and verbal abuse, and more. Photo: AFP
Sexual harassment and assault

‘A system of slavery’: ex-geisha apprentice on the dark side of the tradition

Kiyoha Kiritaka says she left Kyoto’s geisha world after experiencing sexual harassment, physical and verbal abuse, and more.

Art

A legendary opera singer on playing the ‘bad boy’ on stage

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim, 22, wows the Hong Kong Arts Festival

At 82, Monty Python’s Eric Idle is not slowing down

Eric Idle discusses Spamalot’s return to LA, his love for comedy and why being part of the Monty Python troupe ‘doesn’t make you brothers’.

Eric Idle in 2022, during the filming for the Graham Norton Show at BBC Studioworks 6 Television Centre, Wood Lane, London. TNS
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

Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation programming adviser Toufic Maatouk shares why the Iran war doesn’t worry him. But not everyone agrees.

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Performing arts in Hong Kong

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

At the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the new work ‘Red Wedding Bed’, based on the Liyuan opera classic, retells the tale of Chen San and Wu Niang.

A scene from “Red Wedding Bed”, Fujian Province Liyuan Opera Inheritance Centre’s retelling of the Southern Song dynasty Chinese tale “Chen San and Wu Niang”, but with a different ending. Photo: courtesy of Hong Kong Arts Festival
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.

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.

Maitreyi Karanth’s one-woman show, “Maitriarchy”, was produced by Mohammed Magdi, who founded Backstage Comedy. Photo: Maitreyi Karanth
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?

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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.

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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Hong Kong pianist Aristo Sham during his recital at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington. Photo: Handout
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.

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