Cabaret LauZone Sings to the Tune of Hong Kong’s Crazy Rich Culcha
“Where are you from? Where are you REALLY from?”
This trivial bit of information seems useful only while filling in application forms. However, what else does our place of ancestry represent? Other than a few slang words, Hong Kong people are all but detached from the dialects spoken fluently among older generations. To tackle this bittersweet relationship, the multi-talented trio of Yuri Ng, Anna Lo and Rick Lau present LauZone—a poignant yet playful cabaret examining the rich variety of Chinese dialects, our ancestral roots, and the process of finding home. As the second instalment of a Tai Kwun-commissioned three-part cabaret series exploring unique Hong Kong stories (Part 1: Tri Ka Tsai, Part 3: The Farewell Comeback Tour), the premiere of LauZone in the 2021 Tai Kwun SPOTLIGHT: A Season of Performing Arts was a sold-out and much-praised success, with Rick Lau nominated for Best Actor at the 13th Hong Kong Theatre Libre Awards in 2022.
Lau Zone is a Cantonese colloquial term describing non-Cantonese natives, which essentially includes most Hongkongers of previous generations, most having been immigrants to the city. Get ready for a euphony of dialects (e.g., Chiuchow, Shanghainese, Taishan), original music, and laughter as Rick Lau and Anna Lo shine in a cabaret show paying tribute to the lives and memories of the melting pot known as Hong Kong and the city’s collective roots and inherited legacy.
Anna Lo
Anna Lo is a composer, arranger, singer, conductor, producer, performer, and a cappella artist. She graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Berklee College of Music.
Anna has worked with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hong Kong Dance Company, Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Hong Kong String Orchestra, City Contemporary Dance Company, Actors’ Family, Theatre Ronin, Mr. Wing Theater Company, etc. She was thrice nominated for her music at the Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies Awards and thrice commissioned by Tai Kwun to create original cabaret works beginning with Tri Ka Tsai (2019), followed by LauZone (2021) and The Farewell Comeback Tour (2023). Tri Ka Tsai had a sold-out rerun at West Kowloon in 2021 and appeared at Singapore’s Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts 2023. LauZone was adapted in a dance version, Home Sweat Home, by the City Contemporary Dance Company in 2021, followed by a sold-out rerun in 2022 at Tai Kwun and a presentation at the HKUST Arts Festival in 2023.
Anna is an avid a cappella artist and prolific a cappella arranger/composer. She is Co-Artistic Director of Yat Po Singers and Music Director of the pop a cappella group VSing. She has performed, coached, written for, and acted as music director for multiple Yat Po productions, and VSing has performed in cities around the world, representing Hong Kong in many a cappella/arts festivals. VSing’s original track "Hear Me Out" (released in 2022), and “I Want A Lot” and “Sel-Fish” (in 2023) were nominated by The Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA) for Best Original Song in 2023 and received 4 nominations (and 2 Awards including Best Hip-Hop / R&B Video) in the 2024 A Cappella Video Awards respectively.
Anna is also active in pop music and has composed for films. She released her first EP in 2016 and was one of the hosts and music directors of RTHK 31’s Cantopop Power.
Instagram: ykannalo
Facebook: AnnaLoPage
Rick Lau
Rick Lau graduated from NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art, Australia) in Musical Theatre. His main professional theatre credits in Australia: Miss Saigon (“Engineer” (1st u/s)), Thoroughly Modern Millie and Hair. In Hong Kong: Freespace x HK Repertory’s The Impossible Trial, Yat Po Singers’ Our Immortal Cantata, Om Encounter, Save the Next Song for Me and Pica Pica Choose, Leon Ko’s The Originals, Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s The Passage Beyond in Concert and The Amazing Filmphony, City Contemporary Dance Company‘s Home Sweat Home, Actors’ Family’s Cinematic Memories on Train No.5, The Good Person of Szechwan, Chung Ying Theatre’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Underpants, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong’s Bug Symphony, Hong Kong Arts Festival’s June Lovers, 3AMI’s Smokey Joe’s Cafe and The Pajama Game, and Hong Kong Ballet’s Cinderella, Swan Lake, Carnival of the Animals and Sleeping Beauty. Rick’s cabaret shows: LauZone (nominated for Best Actor at the 13th Hong Kong Theatre Libre Awards), Tri Ka Tsai, The Farewell Comeback Tour, Rick Lau’s Lonely Hearts Club Hour, My Queer Valentine, When Rick Met Marsha…, The 3 Singing Bitches, My Generation, Men in Love, SunRice, I know where I'm going... I think, and How Now Rick Lau (commissioned by the Sydney Opera House).
- Approximately 60 minutes in duration.
- Free seating.
- You are recommended to arrive 15 minutes before the event starts. No admission for latecomers.
- Programmes are subject to change without prior notice. HKPAX reserves the right to make the final decision regarding the arrangements.
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