The Old Man and His Sea

Veteran Cantonese opera performer and artist. Yuen began his artistic career at seven and studied under renowned Cantonese opera master Mak Bing-wing. He has also extensively studied nanyin of Cantonese opera singing, making him one of the few versatile artists who can perform across different genres of Chinese opera. Yuen has dedicated himself to Cantonese opera education and preservation. He frequently gives lectures, participates in academic conferences, and delivers talks at universities and secondary schools.

Yuen has received numerous awards and accolades for his outstanding achievements. He has been honoured with the Hong Kong Artist of the Year Award (1991), Artistic Achievement Award (2003) and Outstanding Artistic Contribution Award (2015) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. He received the BH Honorary Medal from the Hong Kong Government in 1991. In 2012, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Education University of Hong Kong. In 2014, he received the Bronze Bauhinia Star from the Hong Kong SAR Government.

Currently, Yuen serves as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Music at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is also the Artistic Director of the One Table Two Chairs Charity Foundation, a member of Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Ltd., China Theatre Association and the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association. He acts as a museum expert adviser on Cantonese Opera for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, a consultant to Xiqu and Intangible Cultural Heritage Centre at the Education University of Hong Kong and the Chief Examiner for the Cantonese Opera Grading Examination, jointly organised by the Hong Kong Association of Cantonese Opera Scholars and London College of Music, University of West London.

Yuen has authored books such as Yuen Siu-fai: Abandoning School to Learn Opera: Disciples Are Not Necessarily Sons, Endless Inheritance: Basic Knowledge of Cantonese Opera, No Regrets in This Life and No Regrets: Paying Homage to Qutou.

Theatre director and educator, Founder and Artistic Director of Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio and former Dean of the School of Drama of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), Tang is regarded as one of the most influential theatre directors in Hong Kong. Graduated from the Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris with a Master’s Degree in Theatre Studies, he received actor training at l‘Ecole de la Belle de Mai. He also travelled to India to experience spiritual development. His multicultural background blends traditional and contemporary elements in his works, including drama, non-verbal theatre, dance theatre and opera. He has produced over 60 of work, including notable plays such as Titus Andronicus, Titus Andronicus 2.0, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Detention, Thunderstorm, King Lear and Bhagavad Gita. “Minimalist aesthetics and the Body” that Tang advocates has become a brand of contemporary theatre in Hong Kong.

In 2014, Tang established “Physical Theatre Youth Training Programme”, an important platform for nurturing the next generation in theatre. In 2019, his Studio was named an “Eminent Arts Group” by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. His major awards include the Medal of Honour by the Hong Kong SAR Government, the Award for Outstanding Contribution in Arts by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Honorary Doctorate by the HKAPA, Hong Kong Arts Centre’s Honorary Fellowship, Honorary Fellow of Lingnan University Hong Kong, three times Best Director in the Hong Kong Drama Awards, Director of the Year in IATC (HK) Critics Awards 2021, l’Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, Excellence Award by the Undercloud Festival of Romania and Arts & Culture Award of the Grand Prix France-Hong Kong 2022.

Tang has authored books such as Analysis and Reflections on the Theories of Acting of Meyerhold, Titus Andronicus — approach in Minimalistic Aesthetic & Physical Theatre and Writing from the Seine: my reflections on theatre. His latest book in English, The Three Levels of ABC: Reflections on Acting and Directing, will be released in November 2023.

“Theatre is a space for sharing vibrations, heart-naked.”

Resident Actress of Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio. Tang studied Musical Theatre Programme in EXCEL, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and graduated with Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Performing Arts. She finished the Professional Physical Theatre Youth Training Programme of Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio in 2019.

Theatre performances include The Addams Family The Musical by Theatre Noir; Matteo Ricci The Musical by Intercultural Dialogue (premiere and re-run); Bi Li Ba La Night Fairies and The Echo in Labyrinth (video version) by Banana Effect; Detention (compressed version), King Lear, Romeo and Juliet and Nothing Is Known by Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio.

Member of Buddy Crew, Hong Kong's hip-hop dance crew, Sin is active in local and international competitions, performances and educational outreach. He has organised numerous dance competitions to promote hip-hop culture. In 2023, he performed a solo dance in Opera Hong Kong’s Grand Opera in Four Acts: Puccini's La Boheme.

Graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Drama at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in playwriting. During his studies, Cheng received the Outstanding Playwright Award from the school and the Outstanding Young Playwright Award at the 12th Hong Kong Drama Awards.

In 2022, Cheng won Best Script Award at the 30th Hong Kong Drama Awards for Ambiguity. In 2023, Cheng was awarded the Best Playwright of the Year at the Shanghai Jing’an Modern Drama Valley’s One Drama Awards. His works February 14, The Final Sin, and Good Times were nominated for Best Script Award at the 15th, 25th, and 28th Hong Kong Drama Awards respectively. Good Times was also nominated for the Annual Script / Playwright Award at the IATC (HK) Critics’ Awards in 2018.

Graduated from the Film and Television Programme, School of Communication, the Hong Kong Baptist University and the School of Drama,the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in acting. He is a theatre director, actor and producer, and currently works as the Assistant Artistic Director at Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio. He has participated in productions directed by Tang Shu-wing, including Titus Andronicus, Titus Andronicus 2.0, The Tragedy of Macbeth and Dead Man’s Cell Phone. With extensive experience in local and overseas performances, Wong began to study aesthetics of performance based on body movement and practices it in drama. He directed the non-verbal play Nothing is Known in 2022. Wong is also committed to drama education and is currently an instructor of the Professional Physical Theatre Youth Training Programme, organised by Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio.

Graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in set and costume design. She was the recipient of various scholarships during her study.

In 2018, Suen won Best Set Design in the 27th Hong Kong Drama Awards for Theatre Horizon’s Peer Gynt. She was nominated Best Set Design of the 29th Hong Kong Drama Awards for Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone; and Scenography of the Year by IATC(HK) Critics Awards 2019 for Heteroglossia Theatre’s Foreign Land.

Since 2016, Suen has been a part-time lecturer at the School of Design, the HKAPA and became an artist-in-residence in 2020. She is now a freelance stage worker.

Her recent credits include 4000 Miles by Drama Gallery; Larger Than Life by Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio; Poison by We Draman Group; Go Back For Murder, Appointment With Death, Verdict and A Murder is Announced by Theatre Space; On Chan Merkaba Live Concert 2020; No News Is True News by Windmill Grass Theatre; Sing Out (Rerun) by Pui Ching Middle School; Ladies, Bon Voyage! - a Cabaret and Roads to Chicken Pie by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre; Danz Up 2.0 by Hong Kong Arts Festival; My Dad, My Mom, My Son and My Daughter… and Gweilo by Pants Theatre Production.

She is also active in theatre design in Macao. Recent credits include costume design for Sempre Ao Seu Lado and Impression of Sunrise by School of Dance, Macao Conservatory School; Reflector (Macao version) and Invisible Men by Brotherhood Art Theatre; Quicksand and Mother Courage and her Children by Theatre Farmers.

Graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre and Entertainment Arts, majoring in Lighting Design. Yeung is currently a freelance stage worker.

During her studies, Yeung received the Best Lighting Design at the Hong Kong Drama Awards for Phaedra by the HKAPA. She also received the same award for Iron by We Draman Group, Attempts on her Life, Marriage and Le Père by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. In 2012, she received the Outstanding Design for Dance at the 14th Hong Kong Dance Awards for Two Swallows - Ode to Wu Guanzhong.

Graduated from the School of Film and Television, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), majoring in directing. Since 2010, he has been teaching theatre projection technology and multimedia design at the HKAPA.

In 2007, Chan founded Sky Studio, specialising in the application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on aerial cinematography. It has ventured into commercial services, including video production and construction surveys, establishing itself as one of Hong Kong’s leading aerial photography companies. In recognition of his expertise, Chan has been invited by institutions such as the HKAPA to teach UAV and aerial photography.

Graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in Set and Costume Design.

Leung was involved in set and costume design for numerous school productions, including Invisible Cities by the School of Drama and Pathos choreographed by Sang Jijia. Her latest costume design credits include I-Solate by Singfest; Bhagavad Gita and King Lear by Tang Shuwing Theatre Studio; Boundless Groove: A Sonic Journey in Nature by Wuji Ensemble; Project Seeing by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and LittleBreath Creative Workshop; Only When You Sleep It Works and Paradise: Epilogue by LittleBreath Creative Workshop.

Graduated from the School of Music, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA). During his studies, Lam has received numerous awards, including the 2006 Hsu Tsang-Houei International Composition Competition Prize and 2007 Asian Composers League Young Composer Award. From 2007 to 2008, He was appointed as the Music Director for “Expressing and Expressions - Performing and Critiquing” Musical Theatre Animateur Scheme, jointly organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong).

In 2009, he received a full scholarship from Hong Kong Jockey Club to pursue a Master of Fine Arts at California Institute of the Arts. Based in New York upon graduation, he has worked with John Gould Rubin, the Artistic Director of The Private Theatre and Gil Talmi, a renowned film score composer.

In 2014, Lam returned to Hong Kong and became the Creative Director of InterMusic Production. He has participated in over 15 productions, including The Unbearable Lightness of Inspector Fan, Two Thumbs Up, Operation Mekong, Beyond the Dream, The Attorney and The Sunny Side of the Street. Theatre productions include Road to Damascus and Buried Child by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. In 2019, he won the Best Original Score for Theatre Play at the 28th Hong Kong Drama Awards for The Ravages of Time by Actors’ Square.

Lam is currently a part-time lecturer at the HKAPA and Hong Kong Baptist University.

Born into a family of Cantonese opera percussionists, Ko is the son of the late esteemed Cantonese opera percussion leader Ko Gan. He has had a lifelong passion for Cantonese opera percussion and strives to carry on his father's legacy.

Ko entered the industry at the age of seven. By 14, he had officially assumed the position of percussion leader in the Dragon and Phoenix Opera Troupe, starring Mak Bing-wing and Fung Wong Nui. He later interned with Tam Kwai-wah in various theatre troupes and has now become the percussion leader for many reputable troupes, including Chor Fung Ming, Ho Siu Nin, Aroma Chinese Opera, Art of Cantonese Opera, Spring Glory, Golden Blossom Opera Troupe, Golden Dragon and others. He has also worked as a percussion leader for major productions such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Asian Arts Festival and China Arts Festival. His repertoire includes The Drunken Emperor Orders to Have His Brother Executed, Meeting Wife in Xihe and a collaboration between Chinese opera maestro Pei Yanling and Yuen Siu-fai.

In 2016, he was selected as the “Best in the Pear Garden” music leader by a Cantonese opera radio programme of RTHK. In 2017, he won the Artist of the Year Award (Cantonese Opera) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

Ko is dedicated to music education and many of today’s professional musicians were trained under his tutelage. Since 2012, he has been the coordinator of the percussion section in the Cantonese Opera Young Talent Showcase, organised by the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong. He also mentors emerging actors, making a significant contribution to the promotion and preservation of Cantonese opera arts.

A versatile musician from a renowned Cantonese opera family spanning three generations, Ko is the son of the late esteemed Cantonese opera percussion leader Ko Gan, as well as a beloved student of Liao Sen, the “King of Xiao”.

In 2014, with his wife Dianna Tse, he co-founded the Hong Kong Xiqu Association Limited, Hong Kong Xiqu Troupe, Grand Xiqu and Young Xiqu, presenting multiple original plays. He also established the xiqu hk channel, combining research, preservation and promotion of Cantonese opera to enable the public to learn and revitalise the tradition.

He received the Artist of the Year Award (Cantonese Opera) at the 2014 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards and the 2014 Commendation Certificate from the Secretary for Home Affairs. In 2016, he was selected as the “Best in the Pear Garden” music leader by a Cantonese opera radio programme of RTHK. In 2022, Painted Skin by Hong Kong Xiqu Troupe was selected as a funded project (Small-scale Programme and Creative Work category) by China National Arts Fund (General Project). He serves as the artistic director, music designer and leader for the show.

Ko currently serves as the Vice President of the Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Musician and Vocalist Association, a member of the China Theatre Association, a member of the Guangdong Provincial Literary Federation Committee and a member of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Hong Kong Member Association. 

Graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Since 2003, Yeung has taught sound-related courses at various tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. He serves as an adviser of Soundpocket and a sound consultant for Dolby Laboratories. His accolades include the Best Sound Design at the 12th Hong Kong Drama Awards and the Outstanding Sound Design at the 19th Hong Kong Dance Awards.

His recent works include King Lear and Scenes from a Marriage by Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio; Since When by Chow Yiu-fai x Joyce Tang; Double Happiness: The Promise of Red by Mui  Cheuk-yin in Freespace Dance, West Kowloon Cultural District; Brown by the City Contemporary Dance Company; Twirl of the Heartstrings by the Hong Kong Dance Company and live sound mixing for Swire Symphony Under the Stars by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

Graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), majoring in Arts, Events and Stage Management. During his studies, Sai Fong received multiple scholarships and won the Best HKAPA Deputy Stage Manager Award (2009 / 2010) for Rubik’s Cube.

Upon graduation, he has participated in the production of over 100 major performances and commercial projects. Recently he has worked with Sands China, Shanghai Disney Resort, ShowTex HK, the HKAPA, Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio, Macao Cultural Centre, Macao Conservatory, Macao Arts Festival, Theatre Farmers and Brotherhood Art Theatre.