Preview-Brave Heart Theatre
26-1-15
By: Meaghan McGurgan
Lovers of local art are rejoicing that Brave Heart Theatre is back with another season starting next month. The brainchild of Tom Hope, Brave Heart is an underground gem that brings theatre to an alternative crowd in an intimate space, The Premium Sofa Club. Last season included three plays, including a world-premiere play by a Hong Kong playwright, Wing Man Lam.
“The first season selection came from a combination of factors: scaled down casts (maximum three actors) and a one hour playing time as a starting point and then – well, ‘eclectic’ pretty much sums it up.” says Tom.
When asked why audiences will enjoy the upcoming shows at Brave Heart Theatre, Tom answered: “Because they’re entertaining. That’s all I really care about. I want them to go into a safe space and be thrilled by what they see – and stimulated to live their lives in a more enriched way. And I think each of these shows can deliver on that promise.”
He’s a producer who cares about community spirit and building something unique for Hong Kong. Often times shows in Hong Kong only get to run for a short time but, with Brave Heart, the actors have a chance to really get a feel for the role and “word of mouth” can become a marketing factor for the small but mighty theatre company. But starting something new isn’t always easy. “The main challenge has been getting the word out and then getting people to come and try us out. We opened the month after Occupy started which may have affected audience numbers. We also found it difficult to get media attention…I’m delighted, though, that all our reviewers endorsed each show for quality and quirkiness.”
This season’s selections have been based around the theme of “Love Matters”. The plays chosen include A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters (February 25th to March 14th), a newly commissioned piece from a local group African Ventures titled Small Eyes for a Black Face (March 25th to April 11th) and two guest productions, VDAY 2015 (February 11-14) plus Aurora Theatre’s upcoming Thinner Than Water (March 16-18) after its opening week at the Fringe Club earlier in the month.
Tom again: “Each guest production plays for just one week. First up is the Vagina Monologues. I’m a huge fan of this show since I watched its UK tour as part of the support team for Old Vic Productions. The annual V-Day global initiative is amazing. It raises raising money and awareness for women’s issues by combining commercial savvy with community concerns. It’s absolutely what Brave Heart is about, so I’m delighted it’s opening our Love Matters season.”.
Along with Hope, one of the creative minds behind Brave Heart is Andy Chworowsky, a locally based actor, businessman and all-around good guy. His official title for Brave Heart is “consultant participant” and you can tell from his enthusiasm and the vibe he gives off that he’s an integral member of the Brave Heart Team. He starred in last season’s Three Little Men and will be in the upcoming production of Love Letters in February. “It’s very exciting to be part of something new for Hong Kong,” says Andy.
Something else that’s new for HK is the option to buy Season Tickets for the theatre. You can book ahead, have more flexibility as an audience member and save money. It also gives you access to the opening night parties for each production.
Each Standard Season Ticket costs just 450HKD and gets you into our two main shows, each of which is running for 3 weeks. That’s a saving of $50 on the standard price.
Get 2+ standard season tickets and it’s just 400HKD each, a saving of 100 dollars per ticket on the standard price.
There’s also a limited number of Premium Season Tickets at 880HKD each which gets you into ALL 4 SHOWS, a saving of 120 dollars on the standard price.
All tickets for Brave Heart productions can be purchased on TicketingOver.com or at the door.
“If you book online, you have to commit in advance to a specific date. With our season ticket, you just email or call us to book your place' says Tom 'so it’s a win-win every which way but especially for you!”.
Another benefit of the Brave Heart brand is that, by watching their shows, you become a participating 'Brave Heart' entitled to spin-off benefits including discounts at a whole host of restaurants in Sheung Wan as part of their partnership program.
As Andy puts it: “Sheung Wan has an ever-expanding mix of top quality eateries and we want to involve as many of them as we can. Brave Heart is, in essence, about building a community and what better way to support quality drama than with quality dining – which is why we’ve geared our show times to allow for those who want time to eat at leisure, either before or after they’ve seen what we’re staging.”
And how have audiences gone with it so far?: Tom again:: “For our inaugural season, our audiences loved the shows, the venue and the overall look and feel of being at each production – the free flowing Svytury’s Ekstra ice-cold beer from our Scapa Scandia sponsor, the comfy sofas, the ‘one hour’ playing time, the intimacy of the space and the closeness of the audience to the drama – in short, the whole Brave Heart experience.”
Want to get in on the Brave Heart experience? You can find out more about Brave Heart and their upcoming shows at their website.
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