Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), the 34^th Macao Arts Festival (MAF) will be held in May. Previews of eight programmes are now launched, including the Grand Opening: Jungle Book reimagined, Duck Pond, Sleeping Beauty, Macbettu, The Fury of My Thoughts, The Little Book, Anamnesis no.: XXXX, and Frances Yip and Macao Chinese Orchestra. Details of the full programme of the 34^th MAF will be announced later.

This edition of the Festival, themed “Wondrous Encounters”, will present an array of fantastic, amazing, and novel programmes and outreach activities, reinterpreting classics with innovative approaches, creating marvellous artistic encounters with the public. The dance theatre production Grand Opening: Jungle Book reimagined, adapted from the classic The Jungle Book by Nobel Laureate in Literature Rudyard Kipling and produced by legendary British dancer and choreographer Akram Khan and his superb team, inspires the public to ponder the survival crisis of humanity from a child’s perspective. Circa from Australia returns to Macao with Duck Pond, a circus theatre production based on Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake and Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Ugly Duckling, offering the public a joyful and intriguing theatrical experience with stunning techniques. The contemporary ballet Sleeping Beauty, presented by Spanish National Dance Award winner Marcos Morau and the Lyon Opera Ballet from France, will reshape the public’s imagination with a rich and varied performance. Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Macbeth is a timeless masterpiece and this edition of MAF will present the Sardinian physical theatre production Macbettu, a new adaption that has never been brought on the Macao stage before. In The Fury of My Thoughts, a production inspired by the brief life of writer Nelly Arcan, Canadian director Marie Brassard transforms Arcan’s powerful texts into songs of life that convey the vulnerability of human nature. Anamnesis no.: XXXX by Dirks Theatre Arts Association, an adaptation of Equus, an acclaimed play by British playwright Peter Shaffer, combines the real-time imaging technology to broaden the appreciation and perception of the public.

In addition, the baby theatre production The Little Book by Baj Theatre from Poland, is specially dedicated for babies aged from 6 months to children aged 3 years old, opening the door to the wonderful world through a textless book. The Macao Chinese Orchestra joins hands with super diva Frances Yip from Hong Kong, presenting a number of classics to music aficionados.

More information about the 34^th Macao Arts Festival will be announced on the Festival’s webpage at www.icm.gov.mo/fam, the respective page on Facebook (search “Macao Arts Festival”), IC’s official WeChat account “IC_Art_Macao” and the Macao activities website “Enjoy Macao”.