Indulge recklessly · All is māyā

 

What lingers in the memories of Hong Kong people about “Haw Par Mansion” is not the existing villa itself but the “Tiger Balm Garden”, which was built alongside it. After the mansion was completed in 1935, the garden was open to the public for free. The park was filled with bizarre mountains, caves, and sculptures inspired by Buddhist, Taoist, and Chinese folklore—all envisioned by Aw Boon Haw. It was like a Chinese version of a “Disney” theme park. Among its most infamous attractions was the “Eighteen Levels of Hell”, a semi-relief mural so vividly depicted that it became a childhood nightmare for many Hong Kongers. Looking back, however, it was likely one of our earliest encounters with the concepts of morality, karma, and ethical values—perhaps exactly what Aw Boon Haw intended.

 

In 2008, Theatre Ronin’s Artistic Director, Alex Tam, created Journey with Mr. Aw for the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, inspired by “Haw Par Mansion”. The production was highly successful. Seventeen years later, he continues this legacy with a new performance centred on the same theme.

 

Theatre Ronin’s Haw Par Mansion (2025) is a performance that blends personal emotions with collective memories, navigating between mythology and biography in “a cabaret-style” presentation. It invites audiences to rediscover the eerie beauty of a bygone era through entertainment.

 

As German theatre artist Bertolt Brecht once said in A Short Organum for Theatre: “Theatre should vividly reflect events—real or imagined—passed down between people, with the aim of entertainment.”

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🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆🐅🐆

 

Director / Playwright / Stage Designer: Alex TAM
Producer: Jessie LAM
Performers: NG Cheuk Fai, NG Wing Ha, Jumbo LAM,

                       Musette TSANG, WONG Ka Chun, CHOY Kai Fung
Lighting Designer: Zoe CHEUNG
Live Musician / Composer: Tim CHAN
Sound Designer / Composer: Ian TANG
Costume Designer: Suki CHAN
Production and Stage Manager: CHONG Hiu Ting
Deputy Stage Manager: Winnie NG

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In Cantonese, with printed English synopsis

 

📅 15-17/5        8pm

      17-18/5        3pm

 📍  Black Box Theatre, Kwai Tsing Theatre

🎫 $368 / $318*

*Tickets available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and the minder, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients. Limited tickets available on a first-come-first-served basis.

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Tickets are available at URBTIX & art-mate start from 18 March 10am

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