In view of the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) has made the difficult decision to cancel the February and March performances and events of the 48th HKAF. The cancellations will affect all 120+ performances of the 48th HKAF and its related events in February and March, including Young Friends activities, HKartsFestival@TaiKwun programming and all PLUS events, excluding PLUS films. The “No Limits” project will also not be held as scheduled in February and March.
For those wishing to refund their tickets, please follow the instructions below. We kindly request your patience as we process a large volume of ticket refund requests. Thank you for your understanding.
For those interested in donating all or part of the refunded amount to the Festival, the donation option can be found within the Refund Form. Thank you in advance for your support of the Festival, as we work hard to recover from this crisis..
Refund information can be found at https://go.hkaf.org/rf1.
For general enquiries, please email to enquiry@hkaf.org /(852) 2824 2430 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am–1:00pm and 2:00pm–5:30pm).
After the Rehearsal / PersonaHong Kong Arts FestivalThe 48th Hong Kong Arts Festival
Two Ingmar Bergman screenplays are reimagined for the stage in a double bill by Tony Award-winning director Ivo van Hove. Van Hove's adaptation of two Bergman's groundbreaking works – After the Rehearsal/Persona is a love letter to theatre which is about the chaotic lives of theatre people, exposing the fine line between art and reality, illness and normality.
A revelatory journey into the psyches of Ingmar Bergman’s characters
With staging that is by turns sparse and spectacular, multiple award-winning director Ivo van Hove has reimagined the world occupied by characters created by the great Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman, drawing the audience deep into the multi-layered complexities of their psyches.
Bringing characters from the world of the stage, but originally seen on film, into the same room as an audience offers different perspectives from those selected by the camera, and brings a fresh immediacy to works created several decades ago.
Made in 1966, Persona appears regularly in critics’ polls of the world’s greatest films. A famous stage actress suddenly loses her power of speech, and tensions slowly build between her and the nurse charged with her care. A succession of painful revelations ensues as their two personalities appear to resolve into one. The adaptation retains the many complex ambiguities and unanswered questions of the film.
After the Rehearsal was originally a 1984 backstage drama, made for television, about a theatre company rehearsing August Strindberg’s Dream Play. In it, the director tries to exercise a controlling instinct to sublimate real life entirely to the disciplines and structure of the theatre.
Each work probes the complicated workings of the minds of creative individuals under stress. Seen together, the plays are a highly appropriate tribute from a great contemporary director to a genius of stage and screen, who made several of the most important films of the 20th century. Lovers of theatre and cinema alike will find this a deeply rewarding experience.
Approx 2 hrs 50 mins incl one interval
Latecomers will not be admitted
Performed in Dutch with English and Chinese surtitles
This production contains nudity, smoking scenes, strong language, loud sounds, strobe lights and smoke effects
Recommended for ages 12 and above