You may have heard about us last year. You might read a review about us online or read stories about our crowdfunding campaign in Time Out, SCMP or HKELD. We’re Hong Kong’s first outdoor Shakespeare festival and, after over 2,000 people attended Shakespeare in the Port in 2014, we’re back for round two!

We have the space, we have the platform, we have the artists, now we need you! Through Hong Kong's premiere crowdfunding website, FringeBacker, you can donate in order to make Shakespeare in the Port 2015 even bigger and better!

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PORT

Shakespeare in the Port is a simple vision of bringing affordable, accessible Shakespeare to the public of Hong Kong. Often people think of Shakespeare as boring or too expensive to attend. We wish to break down these barriers and create an artistic experience that people of all ages can enjoy.

PROGRAMME

Dates: 16th April to 3rd May 2015
21 main stage performances and 7 special events, including a 24 hr play festival!

We have had over 60 submissions for shows from artists all over Hong Kong. We are so excited to present three main stage productions which reflect the diversity of Hong Kong's talent pool.

The Tempest
- Directed by Aska Leung
- Physical Theatre Production

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Cantonese Production with Bilingual Narration
- Children's Adaptation (1 hour)

King Lear
- Directed by Ben Margalith
- English Production

THEATRE FOR ALL AGES

Each mainstage production will come with a “Educa-fun” packet for parents and teachers. This will be provided free of charge and will be available for digital download. It will include worksheets for students, historical information and a lesson plan tailored for each production. We’re creating a festival that will be fun, casual and accessible for children from all ages and backgrounds.

Through your generosity, all children under the age of 12 will be able to get into the festival for free! We’re hoping by exposing children to the arts at a young age we’ll make them fans for life. We will also be providing group rates for secondary schools so that children over 12 can enjoy the festival at affordable rates. We passionately believe that every child should be able to afford to come to the theatre and we hope that you share this vision.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR – MEAGHAN MCGURGAN

HOW THE FUNDS WILL BE USED

Like last year, the money we are raising from our FringeBacker campaign will be used to pay for three government licenses which we are obligated to have. We anticipate that the licenses will cost significantly more for the 2015 festival as we wish to scale up the set structure in order to make the productions more spectacular.

In addition to this we are also hoping to have more advanced technical equipment in order to achieve our ambition of producing theatre that is open to everyone to enjoy no matter what financial background or ethnicity they come from. This includes a floor mic system to assist the actor’s amplification and surtitles to expand the audience to both Chinese and English speaking Shakespeare lovers.

Whilst we were able to create a festival that was fully sustainable in 2014, and we paid all of its performers out of profit cut system, we are hoping to increase our budget in 2015 so we can pay our performers more for their time. In 2014 we employed over 80 talented local artists and we believe it is important that they are compensated appropriately for their extraordinary efforts.

TARGETS

Below is a guideline of what we need to raise in order to reach our production targets. With your help we can make Shakespeare in the Port 2015 as entertaining and engaging as possible.

HK$25,000: basic production costs including floor mics
HK$50,000: production costs and outdoor structure license for larger and more impressive set
HK$80,000: all the above plus surtitles to make the productions accessible for both English and Chinese speaking audiences
HK$100,000: free tickets to 10,000 children

Even small donations, such as HK$50-100, can pay for basic costs such as props, makeup, first aid booth, water for the cast backstage and printing.

PRESS

FOLLOW US

Website: www.hongkongshakes.com
Twitter: @hongkongshakes
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hongkongshakes

REWARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• Postage is included for all the rewards. Please provide your address where necessary.
• For backers who have purchased passes to the festival, you will receive this in the form of an e-ticket sent by email from the organizers within two weeks of the completion of the crowdfunding campaign. The e-ticket will generate a unique QR code which will be registered to your name and email address.
• If you have bought a reward – be it a pass or VIP package – on someone’s behalf, please email their details (full name and email address) to [email protected].
• The weekday and weekend passes allow for entry to one day at the festival. The day you wish to attend does not have to stipulated in advance unless you have opted for any of the VIP packages.
• For backers who have opted for a bottle of Prosecco, the VIP Backstage pass and/ or the VIP Food & Drink Package, these will be distributed to you upon arrival at the festival by the ticket entrance at the designated FringeBacker tent. You will be required to show a form of identification and the backing confirmation email (either a soft or hard copy) in order to collect your reward. Please email [email protected] to let the festival know which day you will be attending so they can prepare and schedule your rewards in advance.
• For further ticket enquiries, please contact: [email protected].

Video Credits: Harry Oram, Owen Thomas and RTHK The Works.
Photos Credits: Coconuts HK, Helen Ng, Jena Saffery, Lesley Cheung, Aaron Michelson and Meaghan McGurgan.