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RE:IMAGINING MUSICALS | London, V&A Museum

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A new free musical theatre exhibition has been announced at London’s V&A Museum from 15 October 2022, featuring previously unseen items from their theatre and performance collections.

Re:Imagining Musicals will celebrate some of our best-loved musicals, from Miss Saigon to My Fair Lady, and Six the Musical to Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and will explore their cultural significance.

The museum said: “Re:Imagining Musicals will explore how musicals have been adapted, revived, and retold for new audiences and reimagined against cultural and historical contexts.”

Considering how extensive the V&A’s collection of modern and ancient theatre artefacts is already, this is set to be a fantastic opportunity for all theatre lovers. It’s definitely worth a visit to the V&A before October 15, too, to check out the current free exhibition, including costumes from War Horse and The Lion King, and set design models from London productions throughout the decades.

Re:Imagining Musicals opens at the V&A Museum in South Kensington on 15 October.

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STITCHES IN TIME | Hong Kong, Central MTR Station

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This exhibition is a showcase of hand-embroidered works of Ms Nikki Delport-Wepener and her students from the Les Designs Studio: a celebration of what can be achieved with the needle. The students are from many different countries, and it is this cosmopolitan mix that allows the uniqueness of the individual to shine through.

The common denominator is the love of hand stitching. The designs and techniques viewed throughout the exhibition are a culmination of many years of tuition and expertise from Nikki.

Nikki aims to increase the public’s awareness of the arts, and in particular, of mixed media hand embroidery. Nikki and her students share their joy in creative stitching by showcasing images of the lifestyle in Hong Kong, as well as the flora and fauna around the world.

These displays are a mixed range of Nikki’s stitches and techniques she teaches the students. The themes on display are based on flora around the world This particular display shows different interpretations of flowering plants, flowers in bloom, Fynbos, flower and creature samplers, decorated cheongsams and aprons that are created as two-dimensional and three-dimensional images; a variety of stitches and techniques have been used in each design, every embroidered piece has been carefully crafted over several months.

Check out the whole exhibition for free at Central MTR Exit J, 13 July – 10 September 2021.

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XIN LI: SURE THINGS | Hong Kong, Mihn 宀 Gallery

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This free, one-night micro-exhibition of ten photo prints is typical of Mihn 宀 Gallery’s edgy, pop-up art space. It’s Xin Li’s first ever solo-exibition, but the Norwegian photographer’s distinctive style belies her years. She describes the slightly comical still-lifes as “self-portraits”: despite being photographed years apart from each other, there is a cohesiveness to this collection, hung from a central circular rail like socks on a washing line.

It’s clear to see Xin Li returning to her Chinese heritage in “Sweet Tooth”, with traditional Chinese coins packed into a grey, unappetising plate of jelly in a darkened room. Elsewhere, fine china chopsticks, and a face mask covered in kids’ plastic gems, also show us a kitschy, Asian aesthetic.

Mihn 宀 Gallery was established just a year and a half ago in October 2018, but the exhibitions are clearly popular with Hong Kong’s artsy crowd. Their goal is to provide an accessible and autonomous platform for emerging artists to exhibit and sell their work. The name “Mihn” (宀) derives from Chinese Radical 40, signifying a “roof”.

The gallery itself works out of a small hipster night-club on the fourth floor of a building in Sheung Wan, with the DJ booth occupying slightly more space than the artist’s own work. Exhibitions are free, with a reasonably-priced bar open to all. ADSL by PABO (aka Julien Pradier) is coming up next week, promising some pop-art style, computer-generated offerings.

Follow Mihn 宀 Gallery on Instagram.

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SWIM COLLECTIVE: INSTANT HAPPINESS IMPROV JAZZ NIGHT | Hong Kong, Eaton HK, Terrible Baby

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How do you like your improv jazz? Completely mental? Then SWIM Collective is for you. It’s unusual for contemporary free jazz to feature a vocalist; three vocalists even moreso. But this is the ensemble’s strength and USP: a highly theatrical, human sound. An accompanying band of harp, keyboard, cello, percussion and electronics allows for a diverse range of expression.

Some of the vocal improvisation is straight out of the Toronto Blessings of the 1990s, a flurry of impassioned tongues, over dissonant spreads of expressionist harp and piano cluster-chords. Sometimes the singers merely coo gently; sometimes they are silent.

One of the most fascinating things about these through-composed, non-repeating, freely improvised pieces, is how the style slowly (sometimes imperceptibly) weaves in and out of free-rhythm effects and anchored, rhythmic, tonal grooves. The whole ensemble are really listening to each other and giving each other space, never trying to dominate the sound. Sometimes this leads to moments of complete silence.

Audience participation is highly encouraged. Everyone is given some tissue paper, and a lucky few are given some spoons. Being conducted in and out, at different volume levels, the sound of paper rustling and spoons clinking en masse is quite mesmerising, and the chance to be involved feels pretty special.

Follow SWIM Collective on Facebook.

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TJOE & NTBM | Hong Kong, Peel Fresco

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It’s hard to put into words how impressive and special this weekly jazz night is at this tiny live music venue near the party district around Central. Tjoe Man Cheung is a young jazz guitarist of exceptional skill, who, despite his unassuming demeanour, is clearly an excellent bandleader too. Moreover, he seems to know every dynamite musician in Hong Kong, so his “jam session” ends up being of a ridiculously high standard.

NTBM stands for “Not To Be Missed”, and this is apt. The actual “house band” line-up might be slightly different each Sunday evening, but whoever you get, you can be sure of a few pre-rehearsed tunes of outstanding quality, hovering around contemporary jazz-funk, to suit Tjoe’s guitar.

But the star attraction is the jam. Musician after musician, every audience member who joins the action is unique and phenomenal. There doesn’t appear to be any sheet music, even for the niche and complex numbers: just a quick murmur amongst themselves of the title and the key, and away they go, sounding tighter than a lot of pro bands. How is this possible? You may find a Japanese tap-dancer joins in with an improvised solo worthy of its own Broadway show, or an avant-garde vocalist improvises disquietingly around a classic, or a drummer changes tack and rocks out on a melodica (à la Jacob Collier).

Audience participation is very much encouraged. A couple of singers get up who are not first-rate, but relish the opportunity to perform. Little percussion instruments get passed around. It’s a steal at $100 HKD entry; although this entry fee is waived for latecomers who miss the main show. The bar is outrageously expensive (think $75 HKD for a Diet Coke) but still NTBM.

Check out all the live music at Peel Fresco online.

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