Alisa Shum

Chief Executive

Alex Lam

Project Manager

Mo Choi

Program Director

Christina Ching

Project Assistant

Sylvia Leung

Accountant

Barwo [八和會館*] has been the preeminent professional Cantonese opera guild since its inception more than a hundred thirty years ago, during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing dynasty. Its Hong Kong branch, The Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong, was formed in 1953. The non-profit philanthropic association not only carries out its mission of promoting the classical, traditional art of Cantonese opera to the general public, it also contributes to the propagation, preservation, and development of Cantonese opera, as well as the career paths and welfare of Cantonese opera practitioners.

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Thanks to the efforts of its practitioners, board members, and the Cantonese opera industry at large, we have been actively working to preserve and propagate the art of Cantonese opera. With its aim to train young talents, The Cantonese Opera Academy of Hong Kong regularly holds classes for adults and adolescents on performing, instrumental accompaniment, and percussion training. In partnership with the Vocational Training Council, the institution has unveiled a series of courses, designed for professional performers, to engage in the task of preserving the Cantonese opera heritage. These courses include The Joint Investiture (course of a classical work) and courses in martial arts and tumbling. In terms of the continuation and preservation of the art, we have been, since 2005, fighting for the Sunbeam Theatre&#39;s lease renewal, as well as raising funding for its renovation on numerous occasions. Towards the goal of preserving and archiving the history of the art pratitioners, we have initiated the &ldquo;Verbal Transmission History Series&rdquo; program, for the systematic documentation of data of Cantonese opera partitioners; the institution has also aided in editing documents pertaining to the history of Hong Kong, such as Hong Kong Xiqu Yearbook.

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The Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong has evolved over the years to encompass a vibrant collection of performing groups and venues. Such as the Bamboo Theatre event co-organised with West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. Their series of highly acclaimed opera performances before and during the Chinese New Year in 2012 and 2013 ignited strong positive responses from the citizens of Hong Kong. Another signature project is the Yau Ma Tei Theatre Venue Partnership Scheme,which is a joint venture with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong that began on 18 July 2012, in which upcoming artists, guided by experienced art directors, have frequently staged Cantonese opera performances in the renovated historic Yau Ma Tei Theatre. It is the aim of the institution for Cantonese opera to become an integral part of the everyday life of the Hong Kong citizens, helping them to treasure a cultural heritage grown from the grass roots of Hong Kong. In September 2009, through China, Macau, and Hong Kong&rsquo;s joint submission to UNESCO, the art of Cantonese opera formally entered UNESCO&rsquo;s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, aiding in the conscientious protection of this esthetically unique cultural treasure.

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* 八和會館:&nbsp;八-baat, meaning eight; 和- wo, meaning harmony; 會-wui, meaning gathering; 館- gun, meaning venue

<a href="http://www.hkbarwo.com/" target="_blank">Barwo&#39;s website</a>&nbsp;(only available in Chinese)&nbsp;

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Cantonese Opera is an essential form of performing art in the Lingnan region. The art form took root in Hong Kong during the mid-twentieth century and soon began to flourish. However, the rise of film and television programme coupled with the apathetic attitude of the British Hong Kong Government towards Cantonese Opera have resulted in a drop in performances. After the Handover in 1997, with much effort, Cantonese Opera has been experiencing a revival. In 2009, Cantonese Opera was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In retrospect, the development of Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong has been met with a lot of hardships and challenges. It has finally been recognised for being an epitomic local art form and for being a quintessential vehicle for traditional Chinese values and literary achievements. As a professional organisation for Cantonese Opera practitioners, we are duty-bound to persevere and preserve the integrity of this culturally significant form of art.&nbsp;

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Since 2012, the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong (the Association) has been supported by the Cantonese Opera Development Fund and&nbsp;the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, to&nbsp;become a venue partner of Yau Ma Tei Theatre, where the Cantonese Opera Young Talent Showcase was launched. Thus far, 159 young talents have participated in the programme and have had the opportunity to be coached by revered industry titans such as Danny Li Chi-kei, Law Ka-ying, Sun Kim-long, Lung Koon-tin, Wan Fai-yin, Wong Chiu-kwan and Chan Ka-ming. The showcase has become a platform for seasoned artists to bequeath their invaluable knowledge and experience to burgeoning artists. In the past nine years, through this programme, the young talents have received a cumulative of over 4,600 hours of training and have performed in over 700 performances staged by the Association. These performances include scripts that had rarely been performed in Hong Kong and well-loved canonical classics. In addition to training up-and-coming onstage talent, we hire budding background actors, stage managers, musicians, costume artists and scenic artists&nbsp;in order to foster a new generation of professionals and to create a viable and sustainable scene for Cantonese Opera. I am delighted that, over the last nine years, these young people have grown and matured into full-fledged professionals adored by audiences and highly sought after by troupe directors.

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Apart from training young professionals for the industry, cultivating audiences is also an integral part of our mission. We are fully cognizant of the fact that raising the levels of appreciation and introducing it to the younger generation are both vital for the survival of Cantonese Opera. In the last nine years, we have hosted over 200 audience-building activities which include tourist performances, appreciation talks, community performances, family-friendly shows and activities. These programmes strive to provide seasoned audience and first-timers alike insights into various aspects of Cantonese Opera like libretti, literature, body movement and martial art. We hope that audience members would not only be enthralled by the performances but would also gain a better understanding of Cantonese Opera. Furthermore, we have staged over 60 youth programmes, reaching over 12,000 primary, secondary and tertiary students, in the hopes of sowing the seeds of appreciation for Cantonese Opera performances as well as cultivating their interest in this traditional art form that is part of their heritage.

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Audience support is paramount to the future survival of Cantonese Opera, we sincerely hope that the public will back our vision of a bright future for Cantonese Opera and help us to turn it into a reality. As our programme approaches its tenth year, we are honored that two renowned veteran artists&ndash;Mr. Ng Chin-fung and Ms. Ng May-ying&ndash;are joining our team as artistic directors in 2021 in nurturing young artists. The road ahead presents ample opportunities but plenty of obstacles at the same time. May us move on and stride forward undauntedly.

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Dr. Liza Wang Ming-chuen 
Chairperson of The Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong 
23 December 2020

Jackie So

Production Consultant 

Kenji Lin

Production Manager

Rika Woo

Production Coordinator

Yvonne Cheung

Yan Kwong

Chuk Yu-san May Tang Rachel Au Irene Chan Chan Po-lin Wong Siu Fung Ko Man-him

Stage Manager

Ko Yun-kuen

Percussion leader

Ko Yun Hung

Music ensemble leader

Kwong Hing Stage Scene Production Company New Kong Hing Stage Scene Production Company Limited

Set Production

Kam Yee Costumes Company Sun Kwan Ying Production Company

Costume

Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Luen Yue Tong Ltd.

Martial arts artist

Story of Yau Ma Tei Theatre

Built in 1930 and ceased operation in July 1998, Yau Ma Tei Theatre is the only surviving pre-war cinema building in the urban area of Hong Kong. The Red Brick Building adjacent to the Theatre was originally built in 1895 as an engineer&rsquo;s office of a major pumping station in Kowloon. It is the oldest surviving water pumping station building of the Water Supplies Department. Yau Ma Tei Theatre and the Red Brick Building were accorded Grade 2 and Grade 1 status respectively by the Antiquities Advisory Board. After revitalization, Yau Ma Tei Theatre provides a 300-seat auditorium, a stage with an orchestra pit, a dressing room, a sound and lighting control room, a foyer and a box office. Together with the function rooms in the Red Brick Building, it is suitable for holding Chinese opera performances and related activities.

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We have the honor to be the venue partner of Yau Ma Tei Theatre since 2012, and bring forth the Cantonese Opera Young Talent Showcase, with the main objective of nurturing new talents ranging from performers to backstage practitioners. With the support of eight Artistic Directors and participation of one hundred young talents, the Showcase stages more than one hundred performances and outreach activities each year. We hope to pass on the legacy to the young artists, and also attract new audience, encouraging them to appreciate the genuine beauty of the traditional Cantonese opera, which is the only art form of Hong Kong enlisted onto UNESCO&rsquo;s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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Waterloo Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon

About Us

Venue

Ko Shan Theatre New Wing Auditorium

Ticket Price

HK$180
HK$120

Programme enquiries

(852) 2384 2939

Ticketing enquiries

(852) 3761 6661

Credit card telephone booking

(852) 2111 5999

Ticket Website

http://www.urbtix.hk

Organizer