ABOUT
Bug Symphony, the award-winning musical, is based on a story by Leanne Nicholls with music and lyrics by Nick Harvey and Scott Ligertwood. Featuring British comedy duo Scotty & Lulu and a stellar cast of 40 actors, singers, dancers and musicians in a stunning array of bug costumes, Bug Symphony is a must-see show for all the family!
Discover musical wonders
in a bug’s world!
THE STORY
Bug Symphony tells the hilarious tale of two humans (Scotty & Lulu) who are interrupted by a bug orchestra while having a picnic in the forest. They then find themselves on a quest to find the missing notes of the golden orb spider in time for a performance for the Queen Bee's coronation. During the search, they encounter a cockroach on jazz saxophone, a Broadway stinger and a deadly killer bug!
Credits
Music & Lyrics Nick Harvey & Scott Ligertwood
Story & Additional Lyrics Leanne Nicholls
Arrangements & Additional Music Nick Harvey
Orchestrations Simon Whiteside
Producer Leanne Nicholls
Presenter City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong
SYNOPSIS
ACT ONE
Supplies packed and ready to go, Scotty and Lulu set off for an adventure in the forest. On arrival they feel peckish and decide to stop and have a picnic. While they are eating, some of their food mysteriously disappears. Puzzled, they begin to investigate who is taking their food and through a clearing in the forest encounter an incredible spectacle of bugs playing in an orchestra. Bees, cicadas, ants and butterflies are all seen buzzing, clicking and jiving to the music! Astounded by their discovery, Scotty and Lulu observe the bug orchestra quietly from the distance. Maestro Mantis then appears to conduct a rehearsal. As he swings his baton, a mosquito flies out and bites Scotty, his scream bringing the rehearsal to an abrupt halt. Maestro Mantis is shocked to see the two intruders and demands an explanation. Feeling very much out of place in a bug’s musical world, Scotty and Lulu are not sure what to do and come up with an offer to assist the Maestro as orchestra managers. As they take charge of rehearsal they quickly acquaint themselves with each section of the bug orchestra while also singing the praises of Maestro Mantis as “Lord of the Leaves!” Maestro Mantis then announces rehearsal for the Bug Symphony, a new composition he has written for the Queen Bee’s coronation to be held on the same evening. As rehearsal starts, eight notes are discovered missing and discord abounds. The Maestro delves into his score to find that the eight missing notes belong to Miss Orb the spider who plays the oboe, the Queen Bee’s favourite instrument. As a substitute is out of the question, Maestro Mantis urges Scotty and Lulu to commence a search for Miss Orb as soon as possible and appoints Stag, his assistant warrior beetle, to accompany them on the search. Fear of spiders aside, Scotty and Lulu brave themselves up for the spider hunt. The journey begins!
ACT TWO
Deep in the forest Scotty, Lulu and Stag are searching for Miss Orb but she is nowhere to be seen. Its dusk and the forest looks magical with dancing fireflies. A cockroach arrives on the scene and lures Scotty and Stag away with her catchy tune on saxophone. As night descends and the moon is full, an assassin bug emerges from the dark and attempts to bite Lulu. Stag comes to the rescue, fighting off the venomous bug and saving Lulu from its deadly bite. Meanwhile in another part of the forest, Scotty discovers a scorpion who claims to be a Broadway Stinger. Scotty, Lulu and Stag finally reunite during a perilous moment as Lulu is pulled out of a sticky spider’s web. Shortly afterwards the missing eight notes are heard from the distance and Miss Orb is seen spinning a mesmerizing tune from her spectacular web site. Scotty, Lulu and Stag put on a brave front and approach Miss Orb about her coming to play for the Queen Bee’s coronation. The mention of Maestro Mantis and the ladybirds stirs up mixed emotions for Miss Orb. She disappears without making any promises. As time is running out, Scotty, Lulu and Stag rush back to the bug orchestra to prepare for the Queen Bee’s coronation. At the stroke of midnight when the ceremony is about to commence, Miss Orb makes a surprise entrance playing her eight-notes. The bug orchestra soon follows, and everyone is heard playing the bug symphony to glorious effect. Delighted by the sweet sounds of her coronation music, the Queen Bee appoints Maestro Mantis as Master of the Queen Bee’s Music and Miss Orb as Royal Oboist of the Queen Bee’s Court. Maestro Mantis is thrilled by the success of the evening and subsequently invites Scotty and Lulu to become permanent members of the bug orchestra. Scotty and Lulu politely decline but thank their bug friends for allowing them to explore musical wonders in a bug’s world. They promise to keep in touch via inSTAGram and by viewing the bug symphony regularly on OOUUTUBE!
THE
CAST
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Scotty & Lulu
Award-winning British musicians and entertainers Scotty & Lulu have been writing, performing and recording children’s music for more than 20 years. Known for their energetic style combined with musical comedy, acrobatics and fun, Scotty and Lulu have produced many of their own kid-friendly shows with great success and popularity both in the UK and in Hong Kong. They have written over 200 original and traditional songs, 15 original musical shows and have released 5 CD recordings and 8 CD/DVD sets. Scotty & Lulu have a strong background in early childhood education. Scotty (Scott Ligertwood) is a qualified teacher and has seven children aged between 12 and 27. Lulu (Nick Harvey) writes music for television and has two children aged 7 and 10. He has composed the music for hundreds of television productions, from BAFTA and Emmy award-winning dramas and documentaries to light entertainment programmes and TV commercials. In 2003 Scotty & Lulu performed on the same stage as the Rolling Stones for an audience of 10,000 at the Hong Kong Harbourfest. In 2012 they narrated 5 shows of The Snowman & The Bear with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. That was followed by their highly successful performance in Bug Symphony in 2015.
Rick Lau
Stag
Rick Lau graduated from NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art, Australia) in Music Theatre. His professional theatre credits in Australia include Hair, Thoroughly Modern Millie and the understudy for the lead role of the Engineer in Miss Saigon. In Hong Kong he has played lead and principal roles in 3AMI’s Smokey Joe’s Cafe and The Pajama Game, Yat Po Singers’ Our Immortal Cantata, Save the Next Song for Me and Pica Pica Choose, Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s The Amazing Filmphony and The Passage Beyond in Concert, Theatre Noir’s Animal Farm and Actors Family’s The Good Person of Szechwan and A Beautiful Day. For Chung Ying Theatre he has performed lead roles in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Underpants; and for Hong Kong Ballet he has hosted Cinderella, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Carnival of the Animals for children. Other performing credits include Le French May’s Cabaret des Années Folles, Hong Kong Arts Festival’s June Lovers and the world premiere of Stag the Warrior Beetle in City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong’s award-winning Bug Symphony.
Tim Elliott
Maestro Mantis
Tim Elliott received his Bachelor of Music Degree from The University of Southampton in the UK where he majored in singing and composition. He has performed leading roles in over 25 musicals and was the Musical Director for High School Musical in the UK. Tim Elliott moved to Hong Kong in 2011 to work in retail. His theatre credits in Hong Kong include the role of Bud Frump in a production of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying by The Hong Kong Singers in 2015. In the UK he performed numerous roles including Motel in Fiddler on the Roof (Wycombe Swan Theatre), Billy in Anything Goes (The Alban Arena), Anatoly in Chess (Camberley Theatre) and Lieutenant Cable in South Pacific (The Desborough Suite). Tim Elliott is delighted to have the rare opportunity to combine his acting and music director skills in the role of Maestro Mantis in Bug Symphony!
RONALD LAM
Maestro Mantis (2019 Production)
Ronald Lam holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) where he studied under the Norwegian bass-baritone Dr. Derek Anthony. He received a number of scholarships for his singing including the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation Scholarship, the Exxon Mobil Scholarship, the Clarins Scholarship and the South China Morning Post Young Post Prize. His operatic credits include major roles in Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro, L’Elisir d’Amore, Cosi Fan Tutte, The Barber of Seville, The Magic Flute, Don Pasquale, Die Fledermaus, Orphée aux Enfers and Una Cosa Rara. More recently, in 2018, he sang the role of King Melchior in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors for Musica Viva. On the concert stage he has appeared as soloist for the Hong Kong Bach Choir, City University Choir, the University of Science and Technology Choir, Bel Canto Singers, Hong Kong Teachers’ Chorus and the Hong Kong Youth Choir and as narrator in Peter & The Wolf and Thrill of the Orchestra for City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. In addition to performing Ronald Lam has been highly sought after as a vocal trainer and a specialist choral conductor. He has served as the choir master for The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Choir, vocal master of the HKAPA’s Musical Theatre Department, Assistant Music Director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival’s production of Salomé and as a vocal trainer for the Hong Kong Youth Arts Festival. He has also taught singing at the Hong Kong Institute of Education and the Hong Kong 3 Arts Musical Institute. Ronald Lam is currently, Music Director of the Hong Kong Metropolitan Chorus, the Hong Kong Women’s Choir, the Hong Kong University Alumni Association Choir, the Lai Cho Tin Choir and the La Salle College Choir.
Lena Cuglietta
Cockroach
Lena Cuglietta comes from British Columbia in Canada and has been based in Hong Kong for the past 11 years. She is currently very active on the Hong Kong music scene as both a saxophone performer and teacher. Her performing credits include concerts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the Macao Orchestra, and in 2015 she premiered the role of the saxophone-playing Cockroach in City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong’s award-winning Bug Symphony. More recent projects include performing modern contemporary saxophone works with SaxoElectro at the World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia in 2018. Lena Cuglietta can be seen regularly performing in Hong Kong with DJ/Vocalist Ela Alegre in VoSSa. In 2018 the duo released their first album entitled Soulfully Jazztified.
Jordan Cheng
Scorp the Broadway Stinger
Jordan Cheng is a professional musical theatre performer, playwright and producer and has performed worldwide in more than 60 theatre productions in 15 major cities. He received his Master’s Degree in Musical Theatre from the Guildford School of Acting (GSA) in the UK and trained extensively under the mentorship of Mohamed Drissi. Hailed as ‘mesmerizing’ and ‘beguiling’ by The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star, he received the Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2017, Best Leading Actor for The 26th Hong Kong Drama Awards and was nominated Outstanding Male Performer in Musical Theatre for The 39th Annual DORA Awards. Jordan Cheng has collaborated with many local theatre and performing arts companies including Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Edward Lam Dance Theatre, Actors’ Family, The Hong Kong 3 Arts Musical Institute, Yat Po Singers and the Macau Experimental Theatre among others. His vocal strengths in a wide range of musical styles combined with his acting and dancing abilities put him in great demand for demanding roles. As scriptwriter and producer Jordan has created several musicals in Cantonese to wide acclaim. His selected credits include Hi Dad...Bye, Cache-Cache Par Amour, The White Collar Principle: A Musical Fable, Our Glory Days, MURDER CODE: D and Sing a Song of Mine.
CHRISTOPHER YING
Scorp the Broadway Stinger (2019 Production)
Christopher Ying graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in Acting. During his studies he was awarded The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarship and The Council Chairman Scholarship. From 2014 to 2018 he performed with the Chung Ying Theatre Company as resident actor. His performances for Chung Ying include roles in Nunsense A-men, the Musical, The Government Inspector, The Miracles of the Namiya General Store, The Water Margin's Lou Luo, The Flick, Confucius 63, Possible Worlds, Months on End, Spring Fever Hotel, Go Go Ghost, The Last Bet on My Dead Aunt (2014 edition), The Miracle Worker and the part of the Butler in the English drama Jekyll and Hyde. His other performances include A Charles Dickens Christmas Musical for Theatre Noir and Starlight Avenue, High School Musical and High School Musical 2 for the Excel programme of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Christopher Ying is both a trained dancer and choreographer. He won First Prize at the Champion Youth Dance Competition and Second Prize at the Hong Kong and Macao Dance Delight 2011. He is currently working in Hong Kong as a freelance actor, performer and choreographer.
David Allen
Assassin Bug
David Allen comes from the UK and originally trained as an engineer. During his studies he took a side step onto the stage, tripped, fell and kept rolling from show to show! As a student he spent a lot of his time drinking and partying in shows such as Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party presented by Warwick Musical Theatre. Since moving to Hong Kong in 2013 he has enjoyed performing many lead and principal roles in shows including A Chorus Line, Oliver and Melodia (Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation), Footloose The Musical (Face Productions) and King Lear (Shakespeare in the Port). In 2015 he premiered a new role as the Assassin Bug in City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong’s award-winning Bug Symphony. He is eternally grateful to all companies involved in helping him to realise his potential. The thing he values the most about theatre is being part of a team and we’re glad to have him on ours!
Leanne Nicholls
Miss Orb The Spider
Leanne Nicholls studied oboe and singing at The University of Adelaide in Australia and graduated with First Class Honours in performance. Her stage roles include Gilmer in Schwartz’s Godspell, Mrs Noye’s Gossip in Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, Papagena in The Magic Flute (understudy) and Miss Orb in Bug Symphony. She has also performed as a member of the RTHK Singers, and is the voice behind the Phonics Fun series which sells internationally through Pearson Education. For RTHK Radio 4 she appears as an occasional host for Morning Call and live broadcasts of concerts. Leanne Nicholls began her orchestral career at the age of 18 and has performed as an oboist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Macao Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Based in Hong Kong since 1989, she founded City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) and has led the orchestra’s artistic planning for the past 20 years. For CCOHK she has also scripted and produced numerous original shows for young audiences combining the orchestra with theatrical elements. Her script-writing credits include Vivaldi Unmasked (2018), The Star Bach (2018), Magnificent Mozart (2017) and Bug Symphony (2015) which was nominated for the category of Best Large Ensemble at the YAMawards 2017 in Portugal and won the Public Choice Award. Her productions have also been presented at the International Arts Carnival and at the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. In 2009 Leanne Nicholls was awarded a commendation certificate by the Secretary for Home Affairs of the Hong Kong SAR Government for her contributions to the development of arts and cultural activities.
Jacqueline Gourlay Grant
Queen Bee
Jacqueline Gourlay Grant studied voice, cello and piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. On the opera stage she has sung the roles of Despina in Mozart’s Così fan Tutte and Olympia in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She founded Pembridge Opera which, with the support of British entrepreneur Richard Branson, performed chamber opera in the Covent Garden Piazza. In Hong Kong she has performed leading roles in numerous theatrical productions and musicals including Mrs Birling in An Inspector Calls for Hong Kong Players, Marian in The Music Man for American Community Theatre (ACT) and Mama Rose in Gypsy for The Hong Kong Singers. For Sweet and Sour Productions Ltd she has performed the roles of Fay in Iron, Florence Foster Jenkins in Glorious!, Witch 1, Porter in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, fourteen roles in Baskerville and all the Ghost’s in A Christmas Carol. She was musical director for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown for ACT and was both director and musical director for the Hong Kong Singers production of I Love You, You’re Perfect and Now Change which won the Hong Kong English Language Drama award for Best Musical. More recently in 2018 she directed the Hong Kong premiere of Lions Typhoons and Judy Oh My! Jacqueline Gourlay Grant is currently Head of Music and Performing Arts at Kennedy School. She has also narrated several performances of City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong’s The Snowman & The Bear concerts and premiered the role of the Queen Bee in Bug Symphony in 2015.
City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong
Bug Orchestra
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City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) holds a unique position as one of Asia’s leading chamber orchestras. Members are professional musicians experienced in playing a diverse range of music styles and genres including Baroque, Classical, Contemporary, East/West Crossover, Tango, Jazz, Cinema and Orchestra Theatre. Established since 1999, CCOHK has performed with many world-class artists including Sir James Galway, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Dame Emma Kirkby, Sir Thomas Allen, Sir Neville Marriner, Michala Petri, Christian Lindberg, Sarah Chang, Philippe Entremont, Julian Lloyd Webber, Edgar Meyer, Branford Marsalis, Richard Galliano, Sharon Isbin and Dawn Upshaw. The orchestra has also collaborated with celebrities including Hayley Westenra, Richard Clayderman, Robin Gibb, Dame Edna Everage and Canto-pop stars Sandy Lam, Hins Cheung, Hacken Lee and Jacky Cheung. Additional highlights include concerts with the Vienna Boys’ Choir, The American Boychoir, the Warsaw Boys Choir, the Swedish Voices Chamber Choir, the King’s Singers and the Swingle Singers. On tour CCOHK has been invited to perform in Italy, Taipei, Beijing, Chengdu and at the 20th China Shanghai International Arts Festival. In Hong Kong, CCOHK’s engagements have included Hong Kong Ballet, French May Arts Festival, RTHK Radio 4’s televised Christmas Concerts in the Park, the World Harp Congress and The Hong Kong International Piano Competition. A keen supporter of contemporary music, CCOHK has performed for Musicarama and at the Hong Kong Contemporary Music Festival, and has commissioned new works by Mao Yuan, Daniel Binelli, Dobrinka Tabakova and Richard Harvey. The orchestra’s CDs include world premiere recordings on four internationally acclaimed releases on the NAXOS, Orchid Classics, Forgotten Records and OUR Recordings labels. CCOHK’s passion for building young audiences for music has inspired the evolution of several new and fully staged musical productions and extravaganzas. Credits include Magnificent Mozart, The Star Bach, Vivaldi Unmasked, The Bonn Man, Haydn & The Prince, WILD (The Musical) and Bug Symphony, winner of the Public Choice Award at the YAMawards in Portugal 2017. At the helm of CCOHK’s artistic planning is CCOHK’s founder Leanne Nicholls, herself a prizewinning performer who was awarded a commendation certificate from the Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2009. Chief conductors include French conductor Jean Thorel (2008 to 2016) and Armenian conductor and virtuoso pianist Vahan Mardirossian (since 2019).
THE
CREATIVES
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Leanne Nicholls
Producer & Playwright
Leanne Nicholls is Founder, Artistic Director and Principal Oboist of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK). She has been involved in performing, teaching and producing concerts in Hong Kong for 30 years. She holds a Bachelor Degree in music with First Class Honours from the University of Adelaide in Australia. Since the age of eighteen she has pursued a professional career as an oboist performing with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the State Opera Orchestra of South Australia, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Macao Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta (1993 to 1999). In 1999 she founded City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) and built up the orchestra’s administrative, funding, subscription, and artistic systems from ground zero. She has brought the orchestra on tour to Italy, Beijing, Chengdu, Taipei and to the 20th China Shanghai International Arts Festival in 2018. In her capacity as Artistic Director she has created, scripted and produced numerous programmes for young audiences featuring actors, dancers and children as soloists. These include Magnificent Mozart (2017), The Star Bach (2018) and Vivaldi Unmasked (2018). As playwright and lyricist she created the orchestra-theatre spectacular Bug Symphony which premiered in Hong Kong in 2015 and was nominated for best large ensemble at the YAMawards in Portugal 2017 winning Public Choice Award. In 2009 Leanne Nicholls was awarded a commendation certificate by the Secretary for Home Affairs of the Hong Kong SAR Government for her outstanding contributions to the development of arts and cultural activities.
Keith Hawley
Stage Director & Choreographer
Keith Hawley began dancing at the age of 8 and started performed professionally at the age of 18, appearing in musicals such as West Side Story, La Cage Aux Folles and Sugar Babies. He has performed and worked alongside some of the biggest stars in the entertainment industry such as Kylie Minogue, Hugh Jackman, Diana Ross and Peter Allen. Throughout a multi-faceted and versatile career he has developed creative skills in costume design, choreography, stage direction, art and photography. His wide-ranging skills are sought internationally for the creation of new works involving original concept and design. In 2001 Keith Hawley was head-hunted to come to Hong Kong, and from 2005 to 2007 joined the Department of Dance at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts as Artist-in-Residence. During this time he won The Hong Kong Dance Award 2006 from the Hong Kong Dance Alliance for his work on A Tribute to Frank Sinatra for Body Torque. He then went to Macau for three years to take up the post of Artistic Director of Franco Dragone’s Taboo and Senior Entertainment Manager for The Venetian. Currently based in Australia, Keith Hawley is thrilled to be back in Hong Kong to work on the rerun of Bug Symphony.
Michael Betts
Set & Props Designer (2015 Production)
Originally from Australia, Michael Betts has worked extensively in theatre, musical theatre, film, opera and television in a wide range of areas including lighting, stage management, set construction, props construction, scenic art, set design and costume design. His set and costume design credits include Handel’s Alcina (West Australian Opera), Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Rossini’s Tancredi (The Australian Opera Studio), Into The Woods (West Australian Academy of Performing Arts), The Heidi Chronicles (Perth Theatre Company), Evita (West Australian Musical Theatre), Mavis Goes to Timor, Red Alert, King for this Place and Luna (Deckchair Theatre), Queen of the Bees (Church Lands Theatre), Troilus and Crecessida (Playlovers) and the Presentation Awards for Channel Seven Television in Australia. His experience as a scenic artist spans 20 years in both Australia and the UK in productions for companies such as the Perth Theatre Trust, The Hole in the Wall Theatre, the Black Swan State Theatre Company, the Playhouse Theatre and Jaycorp Berhad. In 2004 Michael Betts moved to Hong Kong to take up the post of Senior Lecturer at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and currently heads the Department of Scenic Arts.
(For the 2019 Rerun set design will be created by Yoki Lai)
Yoki Lai
Set & Costume Designer
Yoki Lai received her Master of Fine Arts from Yale University in the USA and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. From 2003 to 2005 she was engaged as the resident designer at the Chung Ying Theatre Company in Hong Kong. During this time she won the Best Make-up & Image Design Award (2005) and the Best Set Design Award (2006) at the Hong Kong Drama Awards. Yoki Lai’s costume design credits include the world premiere of Bug Symphony for City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, operas for Musica Viva including Bizet’s Carmen, Donizetti’s Lucia de Lammermoor, Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci and Hong Kong Ballet’s Firecracker. Her selected set design credits include Confucius: 63（Chung Ying Theatre Company), Filth (Hong Kong Arts Festival), Tonnochy (Emperor Entertainment Group), The Blue Bird of Happiness (MQ Musical Theatre), TV game shows for the Shenzhen Media Group in mainland China and the Time Fortune Global Forum in Guangzhou in 2017 and 2018 respectively. As both set and costume designer her selected credits include L'Enfant Prodigue and L'Enfant et les sortilèges (Brisbane Queensland Conservatorium), Dim Sum Warriors (Theatre Above, Shanghai), Scrooge - the Musical (Hong Kong Repertory Theatre) and Building a Character (Wild Rice, Singapore). From 2012 to 2013 Yoki Lai was Artist-in-Residence at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She currently works as a freelance set and costume designer.
Eva Yan
Lighting Designer
Eva Yan graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) with a Bachelor Degree in Theatre Lighting Design. During her undergraduate years she was awarded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarship, the Hong Kong Central Plaza Scholarship and the Hong Kong Vari-lite Company Scholarship enabling her to gain work experience in theatres in Europe and America. Eva Yan is currently working freelance as a lighting designer and as a visiting lecturer at the HKAPA. She enjoys creating the lighting design for a wide range of genres including drama, dance and music. Her production credits include Hello in There (Hong Kong Repertory Theatre), Haunted Theatre, NiteHawk, Deadlines and Lost in Hong Kong (Drama Gallery), My Dream Home, Gone and Useless, (BHT Theatre), A Kid’s Story (Theatre Lab), Unbeatable Plan (UPro) PanPan (Hong Kong Children’s Musical Theatre), Engel der Hoffnung (Rerun), Nora, Dance 1 – Onward & Upward! (HKAPA), Private Landscape (Manna Dance) and 5 is Such a Lonely Number (Loft Stage). Her other projects include the Macau 10th Year Handover Ceremony, the Adam Cheng Concert for the Macau International Music Festival 2008, Hong Kong Disneyland’s Sparkling Castle Lights 2007 and Royal Christmas Ball 2008, Die Konzertisten’s Dido & Aeneas and Jonathan Douglas’ Accompanying Colour. For City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong she has designed the lighting for Celtic Connections, Richard Clayderman and Bug Symphony and several televised concerts including Tango Passion and Flamenco Passion.
Sunny Chan
Make-Up & Hair Designer
Sunny Chan graduated from The Ling Hoi Institute of Fine Art in Hong Kong in 1981. He then became a lecturer at the institute and worked as the make-up artist for up to one thousand productions in a wide variety of genres including drama, opera, dance, musical theatre and traditional Chinese opera. His experience also includes make up for film and television, body painting and prosthetics. He has won the award for Best Make-up and Image Design at the Hong Kong Drama Awards seven times running. In 1994 Sunny Chan was awarded a scholarship from the Asian Cultural Council for further studies in stage and film make-up at The Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera and Hollywood’s Sony and Paramount Pictures Studio in the USA. He is currently a lecturer at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and owns the Splash Makeup Workshop where he runs specialty courses in structural make-up.
*Sunny Chan appears courtesy of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Catriona Newcombe
Irish Dance Choreographer (2015 Production)
Catriona Newcombe comes from Ballycastle in Northern Ireland and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance, a TCRG and TMRF, a BTEC in Performing Arts, a LTCC and a Gold Medal in Acting from LAMDA. Her varied career as an Irish dance performer, teacher and choreographer spans 20 years across several countries including Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Taiwan, UAE (Dubai), Hong Kong and the USA. In 2014 she won the title of Champion at the European Irish Dancing Championships and runner-up at the World Irish Dancing Championships. In 2011 she choreographed and danced alongside City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and Irish piper Davy Spillane of Riverdance fame. In 2013 Catriona Newcombe founded the Celtic Bauhinia Irish Dancing Troupe, the first and only dance troupe dedicated to Irish dancing in Hong Kong. The troupe, comprising locally-based Irish dancers of European and world ranking, won second place in the Dance Drama competitions at the European and World Irish Dancing Championships in Düsseldorf in 2015 respectively. More recently the troupe performed at the Venetian Carnival, the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens and at Clockenflap. Catriona Newcombe has been Founder and Director of the Echoes of Erin School of Irish Dance since 2008.
Simon Whiteside
Orchestrations
Born in the UK, Simon Whiteside graduated from the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in 1995 and has worked in the music industry ever since. His lists of credits as film score orchestrator include Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Brighton Rock, Over the Hedge and Harry Brown. In the field of television he has produced additional music for several TV series including Love in a Cold Climate, Persuasion, Little Dorrit, Downton Abbey and Mr. Selfridge. On set for TV he has performed, arranged and supervised the music for Downton Abbey and Mr Selfridge. In recent years he has been involved in several film projects with live orchestra including Wallace and Gromit and Brassed Off held at the Royal Albert Hall and The Italian Job which premiered at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. For the concert stage he has also produced jazz-inspired crossover music for Gwilym Simcock and Trish Clowes with the BBC Concert Orchestra, for Caro Emerald with Metropole Orkest and for Jamie Cullum with the Heritage Orchestra and Metropole Orkest at the BBC Proms. On a monthly basis Simon Whiteside can be seen tinkling the ivories at London's Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club as a member of the jive band Kai's Cats.
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VIDEO
Promo Trailer (2019)
Highlights Trailer (2015)
Bug Symphony - Bug Dance (Act 1)
Song Excerpts (Act 1)
from the 2015 Premiere
