Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts

Everyone gets an arts adventure of their choice this Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts. Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay invites you to the 17th edition of Huayi from 15 to 24 Feb, in celebration of Chinese New Year with the community over the festive period.

Said Delvin Lee, Producer, The Esplanade Co Ltd, “It is an innate desire for humans to constantly explore new places or gain new experiences. Doing so in the company of good friends makes it more enjoyable, and sometimes, we also get to make new friends in the process. At this year’s Huayi, we scale the heights of artistic vision and create new work together with friends we’ve built strong relationships with, and venture into new spaces with friends whom our audiences may not have met before. We hope that everyone will start the new year afresh and go on this exciting arts adventure with us at Esplanade!”

Huayi introduces our audiences to works that reveal the unique individual voices of Chinese artists, and as a multi-genre arts festival, the works curated for each Huayi range across a wide spectrum, from the traditional to the contemporary, the mainstream to the cutting-edge. Through commissions, co-productions, presentations and showcases, Huayi enables audiences to experience some of the most dynamic forms of artistic expression by Chinese artists.

As it takes place during the Chinese New Year, Esplanade celebrates the occasion with an inspiring and exciting line-up of Arts programmes, both ticketed and non-ticketed. People from all walks of life are invited to come enjoy and participate in the programmes, and hopefully be able to encounter much inspiration and positivity so as to start the year on a cheery note. Some highlights of Huayi 2019 :

• The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark—a dynamic modern revival of Shakespeare’s Hamletby Beijing Li Liuyi Theatre Studio (China), co-commissioned by Esplanade and Hong Kong Arts Festival.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (Photo credit: The Esplanade Co Ltd)

• The Way of Zhuang Zi – a witty and entertaining theatrical interpretation of Escape room game that keeps audiences on the edge of their seat. This production by Story Works Theatre has taken Taiwan by storm and is presented overseas for the first time in Singapore.

The Way of Zhuang Zi (Photo credit: Ko Hsiao Tung)

• Painted Skin – An Opera in Concert—a concert by Singapore Chinese Orchestra that fuses Western operatic style and Peking Opera elements, co-commissioned by Esplanade, China Shanghai International Arts Festival and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.

Painted Skin (Photo credit: The Esplanade Co Ltd)

• That Which Cannot Be Divided—a contemporary dance performance inspired by the concept of prime numbers, by former members of Taiwan’s distinguished Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, Bulareyaung Pagarlava (Taiwan) and Albert Tiong (Singapore) who will each be creating a new work in this double-bill, commissioned and produced by Esplanade.
• Love Letters—a heartrending play that explores the love and loss shared between a pair of childhood friends, performed by real-life couples Rensen Chan and Jo Ngai (The Nonsensemakers, Hong Kong), and Nelson Chia and Mia Chee (Nine Years Theatre, Singapore), commissioned and produced by Esplanade.

Love Letters – Nelson Chia and Mia Chee (Photo credit: Crispian Chan)

• Child’s Play – The Story of the Banyan Tree—a new immersive and interactive children-only theatre production adapted from a classic local folklore, produced by Danny Yeo and 3Pumpkins (Singapore), commissioned by Esplanade.

Click here to visit Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s website.