The summer festival International Arts Carnival (IAC) will open this July with the Asia premiere of "The Heart of Robin Hood" by Vesturport Theatre from Iceland in collaboration with UK playwright David Farr. Giving an athletic modern twist to the classic English folk story of a warm-hearted robber, the show to be performed at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre blends acrobatics, elements of romantic comedy and live music.
 
     The remarkable technical wizardry behind the stage set instantly transforms a danger-filled forest into a high-security castle. Performers spin, fly, slide, climb and dive with the help of a huge sloping wall, ropes and an onstage pool to engage in stunning fights. Live music by Icelandic singer Salka Sól and her musicians adds a pleasant ambience to the performance. Premiered to great acclaim by the Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK in 2011, the show has gone on to have highly popular tours of Canada and the US.
 
     Vesturport Theatre was founded in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 2001 and has quickly established itself as one of Iceland's most inventive award-winning theatre and film companies. It soon gained a strong international reputation, and has been hailed as "amongst the world's most dazzling troupes" by the Guardian in the UK. In 2011, Vesturport received the prestigious Europe Theatre Prize.
 
     "The Heart of Robin Hood", performed in English with Chinese surtitles, will be held at 7.30pm from July 5 to 7, and at 2.30pm on July 6 and 7 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. Tickets priced at $180, $280, $380, $480 and $580 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk).
 
     For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.hkiac.gov.hk/2019/en/opening.html.
 
     The IAC, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, will run from July 5 to August 18.@¡

Ends/Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Issued at HKT 12:30

NNNN