ENG-2008 — Page 451

Recreation, Sport and the Arts 375

Hong Kong Repertory Theatre

The Hong Kong Repertory Theatre staged 10 productions in 2008. Highlight programmes of the year included a revival of De Ling and Empress Dowager Ci Xi, followed by four performances at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in support of the Meet in Beijing 2008 Cultural Events Arts Festival of Hong Kong and Macao. Other overseas tours included participation in the 31st session of Theatre of the Nations at Nanjing and a cultural exchange tour to Singapore with Paul Poon's Central Reconstructed, jointly performed with artistes of Theatre Practice.

Local programmes included Raymond To's Love You Forever, and the original musical Family Protection Unit, a re-run of Yasmina Reza's ART, Stan Lai's xiang sheng drama Total Woman, Anthony Chan's original musical Field of Dreams and a local adaptation of Ken Ludwig's Broadway comedy Moon Over Buffalo.

The company continued its commitment to drama education and audience building by organising various drama workshops and seminars.

Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Established in 1990, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta is one of Hong Kong's leading professional orchestras. Under the music directorship of Yip Wing-sie, since 2002 the orchestra has been gaining recognition with versatile and innovative programmes, ranging from classical concerts to cutting-edge fusion with other creative art forms. In 2008, the orchestra gave over 70 performances, including concerts with Plácido Domingo, Augustin Dumay, Peter Donohoe and Chien Wen-pin, as well as collaborations with the Royal Ballet, Opera Hong Kong and Hong Kong Ballet.

Theatre Ensemble

Established in 1993 under the artistic direction of the co-founders and associate artistic directors Jim Chim and Olivia Yan, Theatre Ensemble has endeavoured to create physical theatre works that are creative and humorous.

The company's major productions in 2008 included premières of My Life as a TV and Of Wills and Willpower, a re-run of Man of la Tiger and L'Empereur du Chant, children's theatre productions of The Secret Garden of Red Hoodlet, Villain Village and Chubby Chubby Sheep Sheep. The Game - a signature production of the company - was premiered in Shanghai at the invitation of the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

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Under its venue-artist partnership programme PIP Let's Play, the company organised various admission-free art educational events promoting art appreciation.

The company became PIP Cultural Industries with effect from April 1, 2008, the first cultural enterprise in Hong Kong to originate from a performing arts company. Building upon its core value of PIP (Pleasure • Imagination. Play), it is a pioneer in exploring the potential of Hong Kong's nascent cultural industries.