The Macao Arts Festival is an exciting annual event in Macau that occurs each May.
It was established in 1990 to make art more available to everyday life.
Macao Arts Festival, 2025 Dates, Programme, Brochure, Events
In addition to a range of performances and exhibitions, the 35th Macao Arts Festival will feature 33 outreach activities, covering meet-the artist sessions, backstage tours, pre-show talks, lectures, workshops and screenings of international stage performances, aiming to expand the audience’s artistic imagination beyond the stage and share the beauty of arts.
Over the years, the Macao Arts Festival has been dedicated to building a bridge of communication between artists and the audience through various outreach activities beyond the stage. The pre-show talk of Life of Pi will be hosted by Gabriella Bird, the resident director of the play, who will share insights into breaking the text boundaries and transforming a novel into a theatrical spectacle.
The session “Meet-the Artist: Geoff Sobelle, His Absurd Art and Creativity” will be hosted by Geoff Sobelle, the creator of the show Food, who will explain the poetic meaning and connotation behind his absurdist works. Furthermore, renowned Chinese playwright He Jiping will share her creative journey behind her drama Deling and Cixi.
The “Selected Screenings of International Stage Performances” will once again present large-scale international productions on the silver screen in Macao, including two plays filmed by the UK’s National Theatre Live: The Motive and the Cue, directed by the Oscar and Golden Globe-winning director Sam Mendes, and All About Eve, starred by Gillian Anderson from X-Files; as well as two masterpieces: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter by the Tokyo Ballet and the musical Along with the Gods: The Afterworld by Seoul Performing Arts Troupe.
In addition, the “Theatre Movement Workshop”, hosted by the cast of the production Life of Pi, will demonstrate how to create dramatic body movements that convey emotions of the characters. The session “Behind the Scenes of Food” will be held after the two of the performances, in which the producer of the interactive immersive theatre Food will share the ingenious ideas of the production behind the scenes with the audience.
The “Drum on the Beat Workshop” will be hosted by members of TAGO, demonstrating the use of various traditional Korean instruments in person. In the “Cave of Sounds Workshop”, music dialogues will be developed among participants through group games. The “What Complements Love? Workshop” will be hosted by the cast of the production Let No One Sleep to share insights into creating this drama themed around caregivers and those under their care through field research.
Experts will be invited to analyse the mental state of caregivers from a psychological perspective and explore this social issue with participants. This edition of the Macao Arts Festival Outreach Programme will feature a range of pre-show talks, workshops and meet-the artist sessions, open to the public with free admission. Charity sessions are also co-organised by the Social Welfare Bureau and Galaxy Entertainment Group, inviting different communities to enjoy the arts together.
Activities and shows occur in various locations around Macau, including the Macao Cultural Centre, Macao Contemporary Art Centre – Navy Yard No. 1, Hall of Iao Hon Activity Centre, The Parisian Theatre, The Venetian Theatre, Broadway Theatre, and several others.
Each year, the festival has a new theme that helps communicate a message. The theme is reflected in various ways throughout the program and activities. Given that there will be hundreds of performances from near and far for all ages to look forward to, this is undoubtedly an event that any art and culture enthusiast won’t want to miss while in Macau. The Cultural Affairs Bureau organises the festival. Booking tickets well in advance is highly recommended.
New Perspectives: Modern and Contemporary Works from the Macao Museum of Art
The exhibition New Perspectives: Modern and Contemporary Works from the Macao Museum of Art features three sections: ‘Scenery and Images’, ‘Ink Expressions and Concepts’, and ‘Objects, Colours, and New Perspectives’. It showcases 100 pieces encompassing various creative styles and techniques, including watercolours, oil paintings, ink art, printmaking, photography, installation, and mixed media, each reflecting the achievements and diversity of the museum’s collection since its establishment.
The works on display highlight Macao’s unique identity as a crossroads between Eastern and Western cultures while also demonstrating the city’s rich cultural values and diverse forms of artistic expression.
Grand Opening – Life of Pi
The magic of theatre is set to enthrall us yet again with Life of Pi, a stunning merge of puppetry and storytelling adapted by award-winning playwright Lolita Chakrabarti. Having made its way to London’s West End, this extraordinary show, winner of five Olivier awards, retells the epic journey imagined by best-selling Canadian author Yann Martel, whose original book sold over 15 million copies and was translated into over 50 languages.
When a cargo ship sinks in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, a 16-year-old boy named Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with four wild animals – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal tiger. Who will survive the inexorability of time and the harshness of nature?
Featuring state-of-the-art visuals, fantastic stagecraft and lighting design, this play directed by Max Webster has been an astounding international success since it premiered in 2019. Following its UK blast, the show has been travelling across North America, where it hit the Broadway stage, now arriving in Macao, its first stop in East Asia. Brought by distant, spiritual waves, the play brings along a universal modern classic, told in the most realistic, immersive fashion.
Food – Geoff Sobelle
Why do we eat what we eat? Where does it come from? All our senses will be tested as we watch Food, a solo theatrical piece conceived and performed by Geoff Sobelle. The audience is invited to an intimate dinner and gathered around a giant table while being asked for nourishing suggestions to feed a meditation on the ways and whys of eating.
Combining rigorous design and stage illusion with an absurdist sense of humour, Food evokes sounds, scents and images, shaping a conversation about personal memories, consumption and the evolution of food processing. Pulling the shots on stage, Sobelle traces food history from the days when herds roamed freely to the conveniences of today.
Using tricks and vintage mechanics, Sobelle creates surreal, poetic pieces that look for humanity where we least expect it, finding grace where no one is looking. Brought to stages worldwide, from Edinburgh Festival to Toronto’s Luminato and Melbourne’s Rising, Food explores the uncommon-ness of a common theme. So, join the table and help yourself from generous portions of a feast where thought will be more abundant than nourishment.
Cantonese Opera Concert ‘Unveiling Harmonious Voices’ – Macao Chinese Orchestra
A treasured art form steeped in cultural significance and artistic beauty, Cantonese opera is a major theatrical genre whose origins are traced back to the Lingnan region. Its roots go back to the Southern opera of the Yuan Dynasty, gradually evolving during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Combining singing, acting, recitation, acrobatics and dance, an intricate musical accompaniment and elaborate stagecraft, this genre stands as a Greater Bay cultural gem.
In this alluring concert, the Macao Chinese Orchestra joins with Cantonese opera luminaries, headlined by Zeng Xiaomin, director of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Institute and a pioneering figure in the new generation of operatic artists. The performance also features national first-class performer Wen Ruqing and a stellar ensemble of renowned artists and promising talents.
The concert, which highlights excerpts of the classics Sweet Girl and The Legend of the White Snake through innovative interpretations, revitalises the essence of this secular artistic expression, which has been inscribed in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2009.
Let No One Sleep – Spark Theatre Group
Shattered relationships. Deep emotional wounds. Will love ever bring redemption when the softest refuge becomes the heaviest confinement?
Blending morbid and dark humour, Let No One Sleep vividly portrays the harsh realities of a family ensnared in the challenges many face in society’s marginalized groups. This play reveals the unspoken sorrows of caregivers and those under their care, burdened by the long-term weight of their responsibilities.
Raised by their grandmother, two sisters struggle to navigate a suffocating existence. Rendered paraplegic after an accident, the elder sibling relies on her younger sister, who shoulders the dual responsibility of providing and caring for her and their dementia-afflicted grandmother. As the lives of these three women spiral in the stifling confines of their home, a social worker’s visit eventually shatters the fragile balance of their household.
Featuring Hong Kong Drama Awards Best Actress Anna Ieong and Best Supporting Actor Sam Choy, along with some of the most sought-after local thespians, this production delves into society’s wounds and humanity’s fragility in search of a possible redemption.
The Mad Phoenix – Foshan Cantonese Opera Troupe
Celebrated for his exceptional literary talent and unconventional spirit, Cantonese opera playwright Kong Yu-Kau led a passionate life pursuing art and love. He is regarded as a genius by some and a madman by others, so his extraordinary tale deserves a remarkable telling. The Mad Phoenix boldly ventures beyond the boundaries of traditional Cantonese opera, featuring expressive melodies and refined, yet accessible dialogues. Dramatised in a fast-paced manner, this piece offers a captivating experience for contemporary audiences.
Penned by award-winning playwright To Kwok-Wai, the play is directed by Clifton Ko who, besides the stage version, produced and directed its film adaptation. Seamlessly blending the dramatic intensity of the original work with the rich traditions of Cantonese opera, it is masterfully performed by a cast of elite performers, vividly portraying the highs and lows of Kong’s extraordinary life.
As a cultural jewel forged in the Lingnan region, Cantonese opera is a UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2009. Building an artistic bridge within the Greater Bay Area, The Mad Phoenix embodies our cultural legacy, conveying a unique fusion of traditional art and contemporary aesthetics through the timeless power of art.
Interactive Installation ‘Cave of Sounds’
Travel with us back to the origins of music, reimagined through new digital technologies. Cave of Sounds is an interactive art installation exploring the power of music to connect people through new forms of expression.
A set of eight original electronic instruments is arranged in a circle, facing inwards, to evoke cave rituals of early mankind. Visitors are invited to freely create new soundscapes through touch and movement. The instruments, each created by a different artist-engineer for this unusual ensemble, are designed to encourage collaboration and free play.
Since the beginning of humankind, music has been used to forge bonds and a sense of shared identity. Deconstructing it, reviving it as an active communal experience, Cave of Sounds renews its allurement, enticing experimentation, creation and sharing. Winner of the PIARS International Sonic Arts Award, this peculiar installation blurs the dividing line between player and listener, making no distinction between participants with or without experience of making music. Just go and step into this small world of discovery and amusement.
Performing Arts Gala
The Performing Arts Gala returns with a vibrant lineup of diverse performances, sparking the community’s vitality through the transformative power of art. Over three buzzing evenings, troupes from mainland, Macao and Portugal will take to the stage in a dazzling display of talent. From the traditional to the contemporary, from colourful spectacles to interactive experiences, the programme offers a great time for audiences of all ages!
The physical theatre The Magical Dot Line Shape weaves an extraordinary world using poles and ropes, expanding the horizons of imagination. The puppetry Riding Alone reinvents an intangible cultural heritage with a single performer animating four types of puppets in a groundbreaking way. Meanwhile, the street dance Inspired by Eastern Wind seamlessly fuses Chinese classical aesthetics with the high-energy of street dance, capturing an air of coolness. An acclaimed international group travels from Portugal to bring us a rare dance performance, Tap Fado.
Local talent will shine just as brightly – interactive dance theatre The Three Evils Within invites the audience to explore the importance of moral values; Once Upon a Time in Macao pairs delightful melodies with vivid depictions of the Pearl River Delta; the children’s play What is Love? Or Where is Love? embarks on a heartwarming quest for the essence of love; and the street theatre The Adventures of Gugumelo and the Cat transforms the streets of Macao into a journey of artistic discovery, uniting communities through creative expression. Adding to the excitement, award-winning productions from the 32nd Inter-School Drama Competition will take the spotlight once more, showcasing our youth’s dynamic energy and imagination.
Chris-mas Kingdom – Own Theatre
Ho, ho, ho! Why is the Heatwave Alley brimming with Christmas cheer? It turns out that Chris the Clown, feeling lonely, has secretly created Chris-mas Kingdom, a magical place of love and wonder set at the street corner! However, the super-dedicated clown-busters suddenly arrive, determined to restore order at any cost. Nothing is insignificant in the world of laughter; every situation becomes an amusing drama, so what begins as an ordinary squabble quickly escalates into a comedic whirlwind. Through tussles and antics, they get to know each other, eventually allowing the extraordinary power of Christmas to work its miracle.
Own Theatre is one of the few local troupes specialising in clowning, embracing an open and inclusive style. Beneath a seemingly nonsensical humour lies thought-provoking material, inviting kids and grownups to reflect and discuss after the chuckle fades. In collaboration with the Free to Play Theatre, irreverent clown promoters in Hong Kong, this Chris-mas Kingdom merges red noses with puppetry to deliver a hilarious and heartfelt show.
Tap Fado – Jonas&Lander
Reshaping a tradition into an unexpected form, Tap Fado stirs up Portugal’s most popular vocal heritage, transforming it into an energetic physical display. Audaciously conceived by Jonas&Lander, a skilful duo of multi-artistic choreographers based in Lisbon since 2011, the show reawakens ‘fado batido’, the danced and forgotten version of a musical genre traditionally associated with the ambiance of taverns and neighbourhood cafés. Designed for four dancers, a singer and four musicians, featuring both creators in the cast, the performance blends guitar, vocals and soulful fado with virtuosic and sensual tapping.
Premiered in 2021, driven by a creative yet inquisitive spirit built on aural and imagery research, Tap Fado has travelled extensively in Portugal and other European destinations on tours to France, Italy and Germany, reaching farther geographies, from Chile to South Korea.
Eventually amongst us, this humorous take on a usually melancholic and languid music will unveil its happier, caricatural side, steeped in centuries-old emotions, long embedded in Lisbon’s quaint lanes.
Kiki’s Delivery Service – the Musical
From a touching fantasy novel to a classic animation spanning generations, Kiki’s Delivery Service is a loving memory for many, bringing magic and heartwarming emotions to both readers and viewers around the world. The young witch Kiki is a child’s dream and a grownup reminiscence. She jumps from the big screen to light-up the stage when accompanied by Jiji, her black cat!
Inspired by Eiko Kadono’s original story and crafted by a leading Japanese production team, this musical brings to life the beloved characters made famous by Hayao Miyazaki’s animation. Filled with striking scenes, tailor-made tunes, and thrilling special effects, the adventure is stirred into a fantastical theatre experience.
Since its premiere in 2017, this popular adventure has been performed over 70 times across Japan, featuring a youthful and energetic cast. On its first tour away from home, this twinkling gem chose our town to cast their beautiful, magical spell!
Deling and Cixi
The legendary theatre production Deling and Cixi will grace us with a stellar cast, exquisite costumes and lavish stage designs, transporting the audience back to the opulence of the Forbidden City. Unveiling the intimacy of the court’s private chambers during the late Qing Dynasty, the play tells the story of Deling, a young aristocrat educated in the West who is summoned to the palace.
As her sharpness permeates through the cold and indifferent palace walls, she faces Cixi, the lofty and authoritative Empress Dowager and the constrained Emperor Guangxu. Approaching both with intelligence and sincerity, the young woman weaves an extraordinary tale, filled with tears and laughter. Despite their differences, Deling and Cixi develop a special bond amidst their turbulent zeitgeist.
Penned by the renowned playwright He Jiping, this play premiered in 1998 by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and often returns to the stage by popular demand. Bringing together a top-tier creative team and cast, the piece vividly portrays Cixi’s majesty and concealed tenderness, Deling’s youthful courage, and Guangxu’s frustrations. It is a gripping tale illustrating a crucial period in China’s history!
Raving．Vibration Z – Four Dimension Spatial
The lights dim, and musicians and DJs take their positions. As electronic music fills the air, the theatre transforms into an immense dance floor. Dancers weave through the space, enveloped in a mesmerizing atmosphere that pulsates and intensifies. The audience may sway and move to the rhythm or choose to sit quietly aside, observing as primal desires slowly unfurl beneath neon lights. Join or gaze—it’s entirely your choice.
Raving．Vibration Z is the creation of local young choreographer Lao Pui Lon, who dissects Generation Z’s inner loneliness and desires through flamboyant abandon. Built upon contemporary dance vocabulary, this piece deconstructs and incorporates the ‘freeze’ and ‘spin’ techniques of breakdancing, enhanced by avant-garde electronic and experimental music. It explores how pop culture shapes contemporary physical expression amidst fluidity and impact.
Presented in an unconventional format, inviting everyone to become part of the creation process. There are no fixed rules – only the flairs of connection and deeply personal experiences that emerge.
The Drum Shaman – TAGO
Let us momentarily drift away from pop music and turn the letter K into a fresh, young breeze of traditional rhythms. TAGO’s The Drum Shaman is a masterful display of precision and movement, representing old rituals with an appealing contemporary twist.
Using a set of Korean percussion instruments, from gigantic to small hand drums, seasoned by martial arts moves, these versed musicians reinvent a millennial heritage with an irresistible verve. Paced by impeccable timing, smooth aesthetics, and scenic awareness, TAGO tours the world, lighting up audiences with their beats. They have been acclaimed in festivals and venues throughout Europe, Africa, South America, and Australia.
Energetic and multi-skilled, their pounding show is now set to immerse us in a whirlpool of emotions with splashes of physical comedy, expressed through exciting choreography. May the Korean beat transport us back to ancient, beautiful eras without leaving our own ground. Let’s move!
What’s the Deal? – Dóci Papiaçám di Macau Drama Group
Laughter meets satire as Patuá theatre returns to the stage! This uniquely Macanese tradition has long been celebrated for its witty humour and sharp social critique, consistently delivering laugh-out-loud performances. This year, the Dóci Papiaçám are back with What’s the Deal? Their latest production tackles Macao’s urban transformations and everyday quirks in a riotous blend of comedy and parody, sure to have the audience roaring with laughter!
Patuá theatre is a unique performing art created by the Macanese community, enlisted on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of China in 2021. Patuá is a creole language rooted in ancient Portuguese, enriched with Malay, Cantonese, English, and Spanish influences. It vividly embodies Macao’s cosmopolitan character, showcasing the harmonious coexistence of diverse cultures where East meets West.
