West Kowloon Xiqu Centre｜The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority's "National Arts Endowment" funded the original Cantonese musical "The King" to return to Hong Kong for its third performance in August 2025

Description

The National Arts Fund Management Center announced the "National Arts Fund (General Projects) 2025 Funding Project List" on December 13, 2024. It is commissioned by the West Kowloon Cultural District (West Kowloon), co-organized by West Kowloon and the Hong Kong Repertory Theater and The original Cantonese musical "The King" produced was successfully selected as one of the "Communication Exchange and Promotion Projects" and received funding from the "National Arts Fund" (General Project) in 2025. The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority ("Authority") sincerely thanks the National Arts Endowment for its recognition of the artistic value of "The King". The funding will be used for the first mainland tour of "The King" from June to August next year, and The third performance in Hong Kong allows audiences in different cities to enjoy this exquisite original Cantonese musical produced in Hong Kong.

Tang Yingnian, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, said: "I sincerely thank the National Arts Endowment for its recognition of the artistic value and significance of this musical "The King" created by local artistic talents in Hong Kong. "National Arts Endowment" 》The funding will help "The King" to be performed in Shanghai and Beijing in 2025, and to be re-staged in Hong Kong, so that audiences in different cities can appreciate this representative work from Hong Kong. The Authority will continue to showcase world-class culture. The power of the arts hub promotes the development of Hong Kong’s cultural, arts and creative industries, consolidates Hong Kong’s role as a center for cultural and artistic exchanges between China and foreign countries, and helps the country demonstrate its cultural soft power.”

The musical "The King" will officially launch a mainland tour in mid-June 2025. It will perform 10 performances at the Shanghai Cultural Plaza starting from June 17, go to Beijing in July, and return to Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District in mid-August. Center performs for the third time. The work was officially performed at the Xiqu Center in September 2022 and was well received. It will be re-performed 21 times in November and December 2023. Each performance was sold out and was very popular with Hong Kong and mainland audiences.

"The King" gathers Hong Kong's top musical theater front and backstage teams, with Gao Shizhang as composer and music director, Shum Weizhong as lyricist, and Zhang Feifan as screenwriter. It is directed by Fang Junjie and stars Liu Shouzheng, Zheng Junchi, Ding Tongxin, etc.

In order to cooperate with the musical's future touring arrangements in the mainland and overseas regions, West Kowloon and Hong Kong Repertory Theater launched a global open recruitment for new actors in April this year, and successfully recruited a new batch of 18 actors from local and mainland actors including Leung Chung-hang, Chen Shuxin, and Yuan Haoyang. members have joined, and a number of new members will make their debut during the mainland tour and Hong Kong re-enactment next year.

The outstanding production and performance of "The King" have been highly praised by local and domestic audiences and the industry. It has won nearly 20 awards in Hong Kong and various provinces and cities in the mainland, including the "31st Hong Kong Stage Drama" in June 2023. Award" swept ten awards including "Best Production", becoming the production with the most awards in history; in the same year, it won the "Outstanding Musical of the Year Award" voted by professional judges at the first "2023 Shanghai Performing Arts World Musical Ranking" in Shanghai —Professional Theater Original Musical"; the first "Ouyang Yuqian Drama Award" launched this year at the Central Academy of Drama won two awards, "Best Drama Award" and "Best Actor", and won the "Beijing Tianqiao Musical Annual" "Grand Ceremony" and won 5 awards including "Special Award of the Organizing Committee" and "Best Composition of the Year".