Curtain up! Meaghan of HKELD gives us her expert eye on this June’s best family shows in Hong Kong

Temperatures in June are hot… hot… HOT! A great way to beat the heat is to run inside the theatre for a few hours, and there are some great shows coming up this month for kids big and small! Best of all, many have been created by local performance groups. Read on for cultural enlightenment!

For Little Kids

I have to recommend The Tiddler and Other Tales. It’s a great show for small kids that’s been brought in by ABA Productions, who are now known as the company that brings in high quality tours from London’s West End to the ‘Kong. Shows are tightly packaged with professional actors and beautifully designed sets, and features fully integrated puppetry, live music and other theatrical devices to tell several short stories. It’s perfect for little kids with short attention spans!

HKAPA, Drama Theatre, Wanchai, Hong Kong.
June 7-9, Various showtimes.
Cost: $265-$395
Tickets: http://www.hkticketing.com/eng/event/nswcms_event.asp?id=6480

For Teens

Aurora Theatre and the Italian Chamber of Commerce are banding together to make Opera fun with Duetto. A reinvention of classical operetta, it can show kids that traditionally stuffy art forms can be rollicking fun! Ticket prices are perfectly affordable and the shows are set in the seventies, which should make for some hilarious costumes!

Fringe Club, Central, Hong Kong.
June 26-29, 7:30pm and 2:30pm (matinee on Saturday).
Cost: $200
Tickets: http://www.hkticketing.com/eng/event/nswcms_event.asp?id=6635

For Future Ballerinas

If you have a future Pavlova in your family, you might want to consider taking your little prima donna to one of Hong Kong’s many dance pieces. Ballet doesn’t have to be really boring and traditional, and DanceArt Hong Kong is putting on a really interesting piece this month called The Search of Hui Sin. It’s about humans and demons and being in a world where your soul can be sucked out through the phone. Sounds super scary!

HKAC, Shouson Theatre, Wanchai, Hong Kong.
June 21-22, 8pm.
Cost: $200 or $160 (discount price)
Tickets: www.urbtix.hk

For Mamas who love Musicals

Musical lovers have several options this month. Hairspray is making its Hong Kong premiere, brought by Face Productions. Everyone loves the music in this Tony Award-winning musical by Marc Shaiman! Directed by Vincent Warren and starring many staples of the Hong Kong acting community, this is a show that is sure to get you dancing in your seat. After all, you can’t stop the beat!

Hong Kong Grand Cultural Center, Studio Theatre, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
June 26-30, 8pm and 3pm (Sunday matinee)
Cost: $380 or $280 (discount price)
Tickets: http://www.urbtix.hk

You can read more about upcoming shows in Hong Kong at Meaghan’s fab theatre blog, http://www.hkeld.com.