Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the 18th Macao City Fringe Festival, themed “Extra．Ordinary”, will be held from 11 to 27 January 2019, featuring a total of 18 extraordinary programmes and 10 outreach activities including workshops, talks, art critique and sharing sessions, among others, leading the audience to break through the restrictions and framework to rediscover the exceptional in everyday life.
The Macao City Fringe Festival adopts the concept of “All around the city, our stages, our patrons, our artists”, encouraging the participation of the whole population. The unprecedented underwater concert Wet Sounds by the British artist Joel Cahen from the United Kingdom, turns an ordinary swimming pool into a space for music performance; The Icebook by British artists Davy & Kristin McGuire from the United Kingdom, is the world’s first projection mapped pop-up book; local artist Lei Sam I turns an ordinary supermarket into the play A Short Time Escape, telling stories of life while shuffling between the aisles in a supermarket; the show Be My Old Friend by the Dream Theatre Association, tells personal stories of the elderly about their cherished objects, piecing together the bygone days of Macao.
This year, the Fringe Festival also features cross-disciplinary and cross-regional shows and collaboration, including the cross-regional creation Body Skyline, jointly presented by Amálgama Dance Company from Portugal, Dancecology from Taiwan and Stella & Artist from Macao, which presents a new perspective of Macao through the lines of the landscape with the extension of our bodies; the show Tranquillity Transmission, jointly presented by American artist Morgan O'Hara, renowned for her “Live Transmission” drawing, and Artistry of Wind Box Community Development Association, will explore the meanings of “disappearance” and “incompletion” in life; the dance performance Goldfish, presented by Four Dimension Spatial from Macao and Changde Modern Dance Company from Hunan, will reveal the concealed memories of emotional taboos under the logic of dreams.
The Fringe Festival also features other excellent programmes, including Interactive Urban Music Ensemble which invites the audience to play music by touching an installation with drawings of different musical instruments; Flash Mob – Phubber Drama makes the audience engage in an interactive activity filled with fun and reflection by catching phubbers at bus stops; Sigma by circus Gandini Juggling from United Kingdom, showcases virtuoso geometries through the combination of circus and Indian classical dance; Bæd Time by Myan Myan Studio from Taiwan, reveals the suffering caused by bullying through a conversation between two girls at bedtime; in the outdoor performance Sonia, written by local scriptwriter Ma Wai In and directed by Ku Ieng Un, the audience will listen to a story which reflects the “reality” of “non-human” characters.
This edition of the Fringe Festival also features shows for audiences of different age groups, such as The Magic of Light and Shadow, presented by French mime artist Edi Rudo and CANU Theatre, which creates an absurd theatrical world using lights and hand shadows; the concert Once upon a time Singing in Portuguese by Casa de Portugal em Macau, features classic Disney songs and traditional Portuguese children’s songs, among others, bringing warmth and joy to families. In addition to several creative programmes, this year’s Fringe Festival also features workshops, talks, art critique and sharing sessions, among other outreach activities, seeking to enrich the audience’s artistic experience with more diverse activities.
This edition of the Fringe Festival is supported by Sky21, and counts with Bank of China (Macao Branch) as the designated bank partner and CTM as the telecom partner. Tickets for the 18th Macao City Fringe Festival will be available at the Macau Ticketing Network from 10am on 9 December (Sunday). Reservations can be made by phone and online from 12pm on the same day. 24-hour ticketing hotline: 2855 5555; online ticketing website: www.macauticket.com. Holders of BOC Credit Cards or BOC Cards can enjoy a 12% discount on ticket purchases over MOP200. Members of the CTM Club No.1 Club can enjoy a 10% discount on ticket purchases at the Macau Ticketing Network outlets by presenting the membership account of the CTM Buddy APP. Registration for all workshops can be made online from 10am on 9 December or by phone from 9am on 11 December, subject to availability. Online registration can be made at www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event. For phone registration and enquiries, please contact IC through tel. no. 8399 6699 during office hours. For more information about the programme, please visit the Fringe Festival’s website at www.macaucityfringe.gov.mo or the “Macao City Fringe Festival” page on Facebook.
The 18th Macao City Fringe Festival Art Salon was held on 6 December (Thursday), at Old Court Building, counting with the presence of the Acting President of IC, Ieong Chi Kin; the Head of the Department of Performing Arts Development, Iu Wai Man; the Head of the Division of Performing Arts, Lei Lo Heng; as well as representatives of art organizations and art professionals.