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Local drama troupe Alice Theatre Laboratory will stage Bertolt Brecht's "Life of Galileo", a theatre work about the famed 17th century Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo, in April.
In the story, Galileo tries to explain the Copernican theory to his housekeeper's son and declares that a new era has arrived. Wanting to confirm the Copernican theory by using a telescope invented in Holland and improved by him, Galileo moves to Florence in the hope of getting more funding for his research. The academics there adamantly reject his theories, however, and the Church forces him to give up his research. The new Pope does not accept Galileo's discourse on modern observational astronomy and makes him face the Inquisition. Will Galileo brave torture stoically? Or will he recant his teachings?
The play is directed by Andrew Chan and translated by Wong Wing-man. The main cast includes Luther Luk, Chan Shui-yu, Eric Leung, Tam Tsz-ling, Cheng Ka-chun, Chau Ka-fai, Law Chung-kin, Tsang Wai-dick, Andy Tang, Chan Wai-chung, Vinci Mok and Priscilla Lai.
Alice Theatre Laboratory receives a three-year grant from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and is devoted to experimental performances. It has been acclaimed by CNNGo as one of the five most watchable Hong Kong theatre companies. The troupe's productions include "Seven Boxes Possessed of Kafka", "Fear and Misery of the Third Reich", "The Maids", "One Hundred Years of Solitude", "Endgame" and more. Several of the plays have been invited to perform in the Mainland, where they have been highly praised. The recent production "Endgame" was nominated for and received a number of prizes in the Hong Kong Drama Awards and the Hong Kong Theatre Libre.
Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), "Life of Galileo" (performed in Cantonese) will be staged at 7.30pm on April 11 and 12 (Friday and Saturday) and at 2.30pm on April 12 and 13 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $180 and $120 are now available at URBTIX outlets, on the Internet and by credit card telephone booking. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for full-time students and CSSA recipients are available on a first-come, first-served basis). A maximum discount of 20 per cent is offered for the group booking package; please refer to programme leaflets for details.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7325 (LCSD) or 2784 7938 (Alice Theatre Laboratory) or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/theatre/program_484.html or www.alicetheatre.com. For ticketing enquiries, please call 2734 9009. For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999. For Internet bookings, please visit www.urbtix.hk.
There will be post-performance talks on April 11 and 13.
Ends/Friday, February 28, 2014
Issued at HKT 10:00
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