Preview- Brave Heart Theatre
11-10-14
By: Meaghan McGurgan
English speaking theatre lovers who have been missing the presence of an English rep theatre in Hong Kong can rejoice now that Brave Heart theatre has arrived.
As the project's website states it, Brave Heart's mission is to create theatre "for those who want to take serious things seriously, raising the lid on stuff that matters and wrapping it with whys and wherefores as well as wow-factors…" Not sure what that means? Let Tom Hope, co-founder of Not So Loud Theatre, HKELD and now Brave Heart, unbundle it for you...
"Well, it's a season of shows, happening over an extended period, but at a single location, so there's a gravitational pull for those who want to watch what we're staging – at Premium Sofa Club in Sheung Wan. It's a basement space, so especially well suited to our kind of underground theatre.... Its an intimate space – with lots of sofas, of course – so audience members can feel like the show could be happening in their own living room... The intimate space means the audience can feel like it’s really part of each show, just as much as the cast and crew, in a way that just isn’t possible in a conventional venue.... Last but not least, we want it to be fun. Yes, we want to take serious things seriously but these shows should be entertaining. "
The three shows in Brave Heart's inaugural season are The Double Bass by Patrick Suskind (October 22- November 7),Tear Gas by Maryjane Alejo. (November 12- November 28) and Three Little Men by Wing Man Lam. (December 3- December 19), encompassing world-premiere work by local playwrights alongside Suskind's modern classic.
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'In terms of quality, we have to prove ourselves' Tom explains. 'There's plenty of people staging good drama in HK. What's different with Brave Heart is that we're playing for keeps – staging a season of work from a single venue – 3 shows over 3 months each running for 3 weeks at a time – so if you like what we do, you’ve got a good chance of seeing it before it closes – and coming to see it again – and again...'
Tickets for Brave Heart's inaugural season are extremely affordable with discounts available to everyone during the preview weeks and to students for all the productions. Full price to see each show is 200HKD online (250HKD at the door) but the discounted price is just 100HKD. Another key feature is that you can save cash and purchase a season ticket for the whole season of three plays.
Each show will last about an hour in length and will perform twice a night (at 7pm and 9pm) Wednesday through Friday starting October 22nd, making it perfect to couple with a dinner. Premium Sofa Club is located in Sheung Wan at 212 Wing Lok St so is easily accessed by MTR, bus or tram, with plenty of good restaurants nearby.
Premium Sofa Club is a great performance space for drama, as I wrote when I saw Of Mice And Men performed there last month by Performance Exchange. But it's also a night club at weekends and this multi-functional role will shape the nature of these Brave Heart productions. As Tom puts it, 'we have to keep in mind that the space we're using is not exclusively ours – and, in particular, every Friday by 11pm it has to go back to being a night club – but that's a potential plus for our audience tool -come see a show for the weekend then dance into the small hours, without having to change location…'
It's really easy to dream big but you have to give the Brave Heart team credit for stepping out there and making that dream a reality. If the Brave Heart project comes good, we'll have a constant source for English language underground theatre in HK. The art scene in Hong Kong is constantly evolving and changing. We can't wait to see what this next development in Hong Kong's cultural scene is like.
For more information about Brave Heart visit their website at www.bravehearttheatre.hk.
You can purchase tickets online for all Brave Heart shows at ticketingover.com.
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