What's On in Macau: August 2018

That's PRD takes a look at the best of the month in Macau: 

Aug 4-5, 11-26: World Animation Festival 

Image via Cinematheque Passion

For over two weeks, the World Animation Festival will be showing 14 incredible animations in Macau, as well as offering two-hour workshops where visitors can learn how to create a basic animation. The festival is divided into four categories: the Bright Series, Dark Series, China’s Hit Series and Director-in Focus – where the four most famous films by the late animation master Satoshi Kon will be screened for audiences. Among the other films are a number of award-nominated and award-winning productions, including the latest hit film by Wes Anderson – Isle of Dogs.

Aug 4-5, 11-26, various screening times; screenings: MOP60, workshops: MOP200. Cinematheque-Passion.

Aug 16-19: Theatresports 2018

The theatresports concept began in Alberta in 1977, and has since ballooned into a worldwide theatrical genre. The show involves two competing teams going head-to-head in an improvisational comedy battle. Each side takes turns acting out skits based on suggestions from the audience, and in the end a winner is decided. Theatresports shows are sure to be full of laughs – there’s a reason they’ve become internationally popular – and, due to their improvisational nature, each show is guaranteed to be different from the last!

Aug 16-19, 7.45pm; MOP100. Macau Cultural Centre. Tickets. 

Aug 23-26: Macau International Mime Festival 2018

Image via Macau International Mime Festival

When you think of mimes, your mind may conjure the image of the white-faced man trapped in an imaginary box, but the genre of performance art is far broader than that caricature suggests. The inaugural 2018 festival aims to highlight the wide range of artistic expressions that miming encompasses, with four unique performances by artists from England, France, Brazil, Japan and Macau showcasing magic, pantomime, clowns and marionettes. There will also be two workshops for miming and card magic, a movie session and a weeklong master class from world famous clown master Philippe Gaulier. 

Aug 23-26, times vary; MOP120 per show, two shows for MOP192 (20 percent off), all four shows for MOP336 (30 percent off). CANU Theatre, Old Court Building 2nd Floor. Tickets. 

Aug 24: Feast of Hungry Ghosts

Image by Daniel Chong Kah Fui/ Flickr

Celebrated across Central Asia, the Feast of Hungry Ghosts takes place during the seventh month of every Lunar New Year. Buddhist and Taoist legend states that during this time, late ancestors and forgotten spirits briefly return to Earth from the afterlife to visit their living relatives – and they are hungry. It is tradition for families to prepare large meals and provide clothing for their lost loved ones to bring back to the realm beyond. You will also see incense being burned all over the city, along with small paper objects, to appease the souls of the dead and bless them in their journey onward. 

Aug 24, all day; free. Throughout Macau. 

For cool events happening in Hong Kong, click here.

[Top image via Theatre Farmers, Macau International Mime Festival, Cinematheque Passion, Daniel Chong Kah Fui/Flickr]