House Programme - Time in a Bottle
Co-created by the Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo and Ishikawa Ongakudo
A theatrical journey through our human experience with music and perfume bottle
Time in a Bottle is a unique theatrical experience combining visual art, theatre, music and scent to tell the story of our human existence. The event features a collection of precious perfume bottles as the backdrop and characters in a series of miniature stage sets.
The exhibition is divided into twelve scenes, each one a self-contained diorama depicting a pivotal moment in history—from the creation myth to humanity's greatest triumphs and struggles. The audience is invited to walk through a scented tapestry of our shared past.
Each bottle is carefully selected for its own artistry. Once commercially available to the world guarding their precious fragrances, most of these containers were discarded after use or lost to history. They are the true survivors of time.
Accompanying the visual experience is a musical score performed by an oboe, piano, and string quartet. At designated times, live musicians will perform the composition, synchronizing it with projections of the scenes around the space. This layered approach allows the audience to engage with the exhibition from multiple sensory angles, fostering a deeper understanding of the themes explored.
Curated, written and composed by Leon Ko, Time in a Bottle also presents perfume bottles from Ko’s personal collection.
Visitors can enjoy the exhibition at their own pace during designated hours with a recorded soundtrack. Alternatively, there are scheduled 1-hour live performances with no audience seating.
- Running time: approximately 60 minutes without intermission.
- To avoid undue disturbance to the performers and audience members, please switch off your mobile phones and any other sound and light emitting devices.
- Eating and drinking are strictly prohibited during the performance.
Thank you for your cooperation.
The history of humanity is a fragrant tapestry woven from the majestic aromas of triumphant eras to the pungent stench of tumultuous times. Perfume bottles are the guardians of these scents, telling our story with unparalleled eloquence. Every bottle holds a unique tale. Whether borne of mass production for the consumer market or crafted as a limited edition from the whims of a glass artist, each vessel is designed to protect its precious perfume. Though the content may have vanished over time, the container stands vigilant, awaiting a second life as a cherished art piece. Many bottles in this exhibition are over a century old, having survived the test of time, crossing oceans and boundaries, and weathering wars and turmoil to stand before you today, their colorful anecdotes at the ready.
Twelve scenes capture twelve pivotal episodes in our civilization, some steeped in legend, others carved in bold letters on monuments. Some represent our proudest moments, others evoke our worst nightmares. These moments are interpreted by perfume bottles as characters in the miniature theatres, reflecting the grand stage of our world. The bottles may be tiny in size, their message is anything but.
Music, like scent, is intangible yet profoundly capable of reaching the depths of the soul. Each scene is accompanied by its own soundtrack, guiding viewers through the exhibition, enhancing the sensory experience, and elevating the visual and olfactory interplay to a theatrical level.
Time in a Bottle has travelled a long way. Its journey started many years ago in another exhibition with a different narrative. The quest for new inspiration and bottle acquisition continues. While new history is being made, may we find strength to stay true to ourselves, much like a bottle safeguarding its perfume.
Leon Ko
- The Creation Myth
- The Vast Wisdom
- The Sands of Egypt
- Imperial Dynasties
- The Age of Artistry
- Vanity and Necessity
- War
- Victory
- Rebuilding the Modern Cities
- Us
- Fear No More
- Going Home
Artistic Director and Composer: Leon Ko
Set Designer: Hiroko Matsuo
Executive Set Designer: Ryan Lo
Sound designers: Can Ha, Jeffrey Yue
Lighting Designer: Wong Ka Ki
Recording and mixing engineer: Kiki Yiu
Video director: Yankov Wong
Violin (Hong Kong): Sean Lai
Violin (Japan): Troy Googins
Viola (Japan): Takamichi Uchiyama
Cello (Hong Kong): Calvin Wong Tai Shing
Oboe (Hong Kong): Ka Ki Lam
Piano (Hong Kong): Shelley Yu Chin Ng
Producer: Kenny Chen
Deputy Producer: Chan Kwun Fee
Coordinator: Nicole Ng
Production Manager: Lam Hing Lun
Deputy Stage Manager: Bee Li
Assistant to Executive Set Designer: Lam Hoi Kiu
Scenic Artists: Ip Tin Wai Jacqueline, Jacqueline Wong, Tiffany Lau Tsz Yan
Props Makers: Leung Ngo Yin, Chung Ka Miu
Perfume for Scene 11 Fear No More: Artisenses
Graphics designer: Alfie Leung
Leon Ko
Artistic Director and Composer
Leon received a Master’s degree in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University. He is the composer of the musicals Heading East (Richard Rodgers Development Award in the US), Takeaway(London), I Am What I Am (Guangzhou). He has received ten Hong Kong Drama Awards for his musicals in Hong Kong — The Good Person of Szechwan, The Legend of the White Snake, Field of Dreams, The Passage Beyond, Our Immortal Cantata, Sing Out, The Woman in Kenzo and The Impossible Trial. He was the musical director of pop legend Jacky Cheung’s mandarin edition of the musical Snow. Wolf. Lake.
For his film music, Ko won a Golden Horse Award, a Hong Kong Film Award, an Asia-Pacific Film Festival award and a Golden Bauhinia Award for the movie Perhaps Love. His theme song for The Last Tycoon also earned him another Hong Kong Film Award. He was nominated for another Golden Horse Award and a Hong Kong Film Award for his work in the movie The Warlords. He received an ASCAP Screen Music Award in the US for Monster Hunt 2.
Other works include new music for the Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin Charitable Foundation Chinese opera productions such as the classic Princess Chang-ping, and music for the plays The Liaisonsand Tonnochy. Leon collaborated with Ms. Yip Wing-sie and Hong Kong Sinfonietta on The Passage Beyond In Concert, The Amazing Filmphony and was the Sinfonietta’s Artist Associate from 2018-2019. He organised and musical directed The Originals, a concert to celebrate the original musicals of Hong Kong. He was artistic and musical director of Le French May’s Cities of Light in 2022.
Besides music, he launched Time in a Bottle, the first-ever perfume bottle exhibition in Hong Kong in 2010, showcasing the artistry of vintage bottles in the context of theatre.
Hiroko Matsuo
Set Designer
Hiroko completed her BA in theatre design at Osaka University of Art and joined Shiki Theatre Company. In 2009, she moved to the UK and studied at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, and she assisted Antony McDonald and Simon Holdsworth for many opera productions including Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Royal Welsh Opera.
After her return to Japan in 2015, Hiroko began her career as a freelance set designer. She has designed over three hundred theatrical productions such as musical, play, opera, ballet, and concert. Hiroko won awards including Kisaku Ito Memorial Award.
Her set designs include Musical SPY×FAMILY (Imperial Theater),Lucia di Lammermoor (Nissei Theater), Madama Butterfly (Hitaru), The Marriage of Figaro (Nikikai Nagoya), Der Freischütz (Nikikai Kansai), ZEN (Kanazawa Kagekiza), The Nutcracker (Hitaru Ballet project), Hamlet, The Moon Cinema (PARCO Theatre).
Ryan Lo
Executive Set Designer
Former Artist-in-Residence (Design) at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Ryan Lo is currently a freelance set & costume designer. In 2023 he was nominated for Best Stage Design at the 32nd Hong Kong Drama Awards and Best Stage Technology/Design in IATC(HK) Critics Award for I Am Tree by Artocrite Theater. He was also nominated for Best Stage Effect at the 15th Hong Kong Theatre Libre Awards for his set design for Asagao by Artocrite Theater, set and costume design for The Bucket by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and set and costume design for Leave Him in the Dust by Theatre Formula.
Recent works include set and costume design for A Tale of the Young Shennong and The Bucket and set designs for I Am Tree and Sing Out – A Musical 2024.
Wong Ka Ki
Lighting Designer
Wong Ka Ki graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in Theatre and Entertainment Arts, majoring in Lighting Design. She is currently studying Curating and Art History at Lingnan University.
Recent productions include One Table Two Chairs Charitable Foundation’s To Meet You in a Briny Sea, Sing Along with Lok Lok, West Kowloon Cultural District’s Bright Day, Tang Shu-Wing Theatre Studio’s The Rape of Lucrece, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra’s The Neon City and Unlock Dancing Plaza’s Body In Time - Revisit.
Yankov Wong
Video designer
Yankov Wong is a multi-media artist who has shown his talent in Dramatic Arts, Photography, Music, Videography, etc. He is now a part-time lecturer at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Theatre Directing Program. He graduated from UCLA with a Master of Fine Arts, graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a first-class honour Bachelor Degree, both major in Directing. He has recently been nominated for Best Original Music in the 32nd Hong Kong Drama Awards.
He was the host of the RTHK radio program 《一劇之本》focusing analysing and different technical aspects on playwriting and screenwriting for 4 years. Sharing his in-depth analysis of contemporary and classic theatrical scripts and screenplays.
His recent directing credits include Hong Kong Arts Festival -Chamber Opera Por Por (Stage and movie version), Snow Queen (Opera), Alice in Wonderland (Opera), Le French May opera programs, Merry Widow, Orphee Aux Enfers. Theatre productions, Red, Bald Soprano, Marat/Sade, Summer and Smoke, Gan Eden, Lingering in the Wind, etc.
Yankov is also an actor. He recently appeared on stage for the third part of the Death Trilogy by 7A Drama Group - A Sympathetic Detonation. He is also the composer and liver musician for the show and also all the other runs the the earlier 2 parts of the trilogy which the performed not only in Hong Kong, but also Korea, and Mainland China.
Sean Lai
Violin (Hong Kong)
Lai holds degrees from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden. Under the tutelage of Miss Ho Hung Ying from Hong Kong and Miss Natalia Prishepenko from Germany.
Lai has been an active chambermusician, as the first violinist inthe Zephyrus String Quartetformed in Hong Kong, Lai and histeam were invited to perform inthe open stage of the Hong KongChamber Festival, “Academy New Generation Artists Concert”, and “Academy Dance: Opus 16: Point of Departure”, all ended with good comments.
Lai also have equal interest in being an orchestral player and baroque music player. Lai has participated the NJO as the associated concert master in 2012 and played concerts in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Dan Hague and Belgium with the orchestra. Lai performed regularly with Die Konzertisten and various opera companies in Hong Kong. Lai has participated various baroque master classes and lessons from Monica Hugget, Nadja Zwiener, New Dutch Academy, Academy of Ancient Music and The English Concert.
Troy Googins
Violin (Japan)
Third generation Japanese born and raised in Denver, Colorado, USA. Received the Jerome Gross award while attaining the Bachelor and Master's degrees at Cleveland Institute of Music. Invited to join the Yamagata Symphony Orchestra on a special cultural mission of the Japanese government followed by regular membership for two years. Joined the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa; Japan's first professional chamber orchestra. An active member in the storied history of the orchestra participating in the success of it's making nearly hundred CD's, numerous tours throughout all of Japan as well as over twenty tours in Europe, Australia and most countries of Asia. Actively performing concerts collaborating with various artists and incorporating an array of instruments. Making music enjoyable and educational to all audiences is a continuing project; always trying to introduce unfamiliar repertoire for both the listener and performer.
Takamichi Uchiyama
Viola (Japan)
Born in 1976,Takamichi Uchiyama graduated at the Aichi University of Arts(Japan).He perfected his studies with N.Imai and H.Schrichtig.He performs with major orchestra in Japan and as a chamber musician.He is the associate principal at the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra.
Wong Tai Shing, Kelvin
Cello (Hong Kong)
Cellist from Hong Kong, Artistic Director of Suzhou Backstage Studio and the MUSES Concert Series@Suzhou Museum, faculty member at the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival in Italy, founder of TRANSCEND development platform. A graduate with a Master's degree from the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, studied under Professor Jan Ickert, Head of the String Department.
In recent years, Wong has organised performances in various regions of mainland China, frequently leading collaborations between Hong Kong and mainland musicians. including the “HORIZON” chamber concert in this September at the Cadillac·Shanghai Concert Hall, presenting the first performance of the TRANSCEND platform. In collaboration with Backstage Studio and the Suzhou Museum, two performances was also organised at the museum, both of which were fully booked on the first day of reservations. In February this year, he led Hong Kong musicians in a collaboration with musicians from the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, and also performing as the cello soloist in Chengdu. Prior to the performance, he was also interviewed and filmed by China News Service.
In January this year, Wong was appointed as the first principal cellist from Hong Kong at the the "2024 Youth Music Culture the Greater Bay Area", collaborating with conductor Daniel Harding on the premiere of Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra's commissioned work “Aureate Skylines" by Elliot Leung, earning acclaim for his solo passage performance from the musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic. In July of this year, Wong became the youngest and first Hong Kong musician to be appointed as a faculty member at the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival in Italy.
Wong has frequently performed solo recitals in mainland China, with tickets for the MUSES Concert Series being fully booked within a record-setting 8 minutes once. In 2023, he directed the Hong Kong 26th-anniversary celebration outdoor light show and musical performance in Shanghai, where he performed as the electric cello soloist and led the artistic direction for outdoor projections, lighting effects, and live sound mixing. In 2024 July, Calvin Wong also organised the music performance for the celebrations of the 27th anniversary of Hong Kong, held in Shanghai.
Wong was also invited to perform the solo cello part in two major musical productions, "The Impossible Trial" and "I Am What I Am," during the Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Greater Bay Area tour.
During his time in Europe, he represented the Hong Kong ETO in Brussels three times at the Rome Chamber Music Festival. Wong has also performed solo concerts with the Mainzer Virtuosi in Europe. Upon his return to Hong Kong, he was interviewed on the RTHK's "The Works" program, showcasing his performance.
Lam Ka Ki, Kelvin
Oboe (Hong Kong)
Lam Ka Ki Kelvin started his oboe study at the age of 7. During his schooling in Diocesan Boys’ School, Lam was an active member of DBS School Orchestra, Wind Orchestra and Senior Boys Choir and has been principal oboe and English horn within. After graduation, Lam was offered a place to study in the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and graduated in 2012 in the Advance Diploma programme, graduate of Bachelor of Music (Honours) Degree programme in 2014, majoring in oboe performance, under the guidance of the renowned oboist Prof. Yiu Song-lam. He has participated in the masterclasses of Christian Schmitt, Gordon Hunt, and Maurice Bourgue. He was invited to perform with the Hong Kong Wind Kamerata in French May 2017 and 2018, solo oboe in “Vixen” production of Hong Kong Arts Festival 2023. Lam was invited to participate in movie soundtracks recording as solo oboe, such as “A Simple Life” , “Anita”. Lam is also interested in English Horn playing - he was invited to join the Symphony Orchestra of the HKAPA and SAR Philharmonic Orchestra as an English Horn player.
Recently, Lam joined the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong as the tutti oboe and principal English horn, he is also the oboe tutor of Diocesan Boys’ School Primary Division, Pui Ching Primary School and Yaumati Catholic Primary School.
Shelley Ng
Piano (Hong Kong)
Hong Kong pianist Shelley Ng has performed extensively in the world’s renowned venues across the three continents including Carnegie Hall, Seiji Ozawa Hall, Harris Hall, and Milton Court; as well as most prestigious festivals such as the Tanglewood Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Taiwan International Festival of Arts and Hangzhou Contemporary Music Festival. Her performances and interviews have aired on Radio Television Hong Kong, Metro Radio, Teledifusão de Macau, and WHRB, Harvard Radio Broadcasting.
During the 2023/24 season, Shelley curated and performed a solo recital for the Prison Yard Festival at Tai Kwun. She spearheaded a Turkish-themed fundraising concert for the 2023 earthquake victims, presented by the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble and the Consulate General of Türkiye in Hong Kong. Shelley has also performed at the home of the Czech Consul General for guests of the consulate, and undertook an eight-city recital tour in the United States, including at Shenandoah University and the University of Wisconsin- Madison, where the pianist presented engaging, innovative concert repertoire as well as an eclectic mix of contemporary repertoire and those from the standard canon.
Exploring intersections of her musical career, social and artistic interests, Shelley organised fundraising concerts for Sichuan earthquake and autism. Her thoughtful programming and expressive performances have deeply touched the emotions of audiences. In addition to solo performances, she also toured Mediterranean Europe, USA, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean in over 350 concerts with the piano quartet in residence of Lincoln Center Stage.
Shelley Ng is currently an associate musician of HKNME. Prior to her return to Hong Kong, she was the piano faculty, chamber music coach at the Rice University Preparatory Program and staff pianist of studios of Midori Goto, Pamela Frank, and Margaret Batjer. She earned her Master’s degrees from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with distinction and subsequently from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under full scholarship.
Chan Kwun Fee
Deputy Producer
Chan Kwun Fee is a Hong Kong-based trans-disciplinary artist working as a theatre director, curator and teaching artist as well as a registered yoga teacher. She is currently artistic director of Littlebreath Creative Workshop. A graduate of the School of Creative Media in City University of Hong Kong who received her Master of Curating and Art History from Lingnan University, she was a recipient of the Arts Administration Scholarship from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council as well as Exit Scholarship from Lingnan.
Among her recent major projects were Bright Day (2022), Only when you sleep, it works (2019), Paradise: Epilogue (2019), Kassandra or the World as the End of Representation (2018, awarded Performance of the Year from the IATC Theatre Critics Award, nominated for Best Performance, Best Scenography and Best Director at the Hong Kong Theatre Libre), Absent Presentee (2015), Present Absentee (2014, nominated for Best Performance at the Hong Kong Theatre Libre).
Her curatorial projects include Future Performing Arts Lab #2 (2023), Future Performing Arts Lab #1 (2021), Our Land, Our Sea (2020), Where is Our Sea? (2018) and Heptahedron, A Surrealist’s City Odyssey (2015).
She is also active in arts education, participating in such programmes as Wherefore Tai Po, Jockey Club Dance Well Project, Art Is Land and Youth Co-Learning Film Project.
Lam Hing Lun
Production Manager
Lam Hing Lun kicked off his career freelancing on theatre projects in 2002, honing his technical knowledge and expertise in a variety of scales and scopes. Leveraging his experience and expertise from his time with seniors, he was able to take up roles as Technical Director and Production Manager. Despite his Doraemon-looking appearance, he practices cycling and dreamt of becoming a martial artist before the age of 30. Yet, nothing went as planned. After devoting years to the live entertainment industry, he knew he would return to the theatre.
Bee Li
Deputy Stage Manager
Currently a freelance theatre worker, Li worked as deputy stage manager and stage manager at City Contemporary Dance Company from 2019 to 2022. Her productions include The Retransforman (Actors’ Family), Too late for Omakase tonight? (We Draman Group), Run (Siu Lung Fung Dance Theatre), Man of la Central 2.0 (R&T Rhythm & Tempo), Loveless Romance (Hong Kong Arts Festival), LauZone (Re-run) (Tai Kwun), Unspoken(GoodShow,Club & ZOO) .
Lam Hoi Kiu
Assistant of Executive Set Designer
A 2023 graduate of the School of Theatre and Entertainment Arts of The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts majoring in Theatre Design with specialisation in Set & Costume Design, Lam participated in such productions as Giulio Cesare (Associate Set Designer), Ten Oxen of Ours(Costume Designer) and Impermanence of 2022 School of Dance Choreographic Workshop II Performances (Costume Designer).
Recent productions include Body in Time (Costume Designer), Sing Out - A Musical 2024 (Assistant Set Designer), Quills (Re-run) (Associate Set Designer), Songs At A Crossroads (Assistant Set and Costume Designer), Light Up Your Dream (Assistant Set Designer) and Your Own Mirror (Assistant Set Designer).
Recording studio: Shaw Studios
Work Shop Production (HK) Company Limited
Ms Rosalina Ma
Dora
Kenneth Yee Chung-Man
Mr Ken Leach
Mr Armando Grano
Ms Nancy Loo
Ms Bronwen Chan
Shaw Studios
Mr Chris Shum
Mr Peter Wong
Ms Eva Chau
Mr Sean Lai
Audio-Technica (Greater China) Limited