Play is the thing at Clockenflap

Since Clockenflap's first edition in 2008, Hong Kong's live musical offerings have multiplied in number and ambition. Yet the city's flagship outdoor music festival remains the favorite — and not the least because of all the extra-musical experiences it has to offer.

"In my mind at least, a music event should offer alternative activities which complement the music to be considered a festival," says Clockenflap co-founder Jay Hofmann-Forster, who also serves as the artistic director of the festival's visual and performing arts program.

However, since 2016, Clockenflap has been missing his favorite component, cabaret theater Club Minky — axed a year after the event moved from the more-expansive West Kowloon Cultural District to the Central Harbourfront.

To fill that theatrical void, this year's edition will see the introduction of Minimax Presents: The Planets — a mobile, multidisciplinary performance celebrating the 100th anniversary of Gustav Holst's landmark classical suite, The Planets. Intended as a "catalyst for conversation, reflection, and opening up new possibilities", the piece honors the of beat, artsy and carefree vision of the festival's spunkier early years.

Hofmann-Forster says that from the outset, he had wanted "to create moments that stay with people long after the festival ends".

Between musical acts, Minimax Presents: The Planets — a modular and mobile theatrical experience — will play in different locations of the Central Harbourfront Event Space. The mobile theater facility was conceived by Hofmann-Forster and Obie Chan of Screw Up Studio.

Ben Smith of Swedish contemporary circus Svalbard Co, who wrote the three-act piece, says that it reimagines Holst's ideas "through lenses that weren't available at the time". Minimax Presents: The Planets includes dance, a circus and live music, performed by a mix of contemporary jazz musicians, a community choir, street dance ensembles, and students from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

"Cultures are rapidly adapting to artificial intelligence, and by way of a counterbalance, we are committed to making something deeply human, which explores and celebrates the potential of our innate creativity and unique physicality," Hofmann-Forster says.

We are family

Away from the main music stages, Clockenflap's family offerings have grown popular over recent editions, observes Davina Carrete. Since 2023, she has cocurated the daytime programming at the festival's Robot Stage — home to family-oriented performances during the day, until it's time for the DJs to take over.

Carrete says that her company, Treasure Chest Theatre, has "flourished" since it began collaborating with Clockenflap. "There's a lot of creativity in Hong Kong that doesn't often get a public platform," she says. "This festival shows all the wonderful things that are possible."

For a certain segment of the audience, the Robot Stage creates the day's happiest memories, its existence encouraging parents to bring the kids along. "It lets families come together and enjoy all the aspects of being at a festival," adds Carrete. "It's very inspiring for young minds to be exposed and involved in this kind of creative atmosphere."

This year's Robot Stage programming includes an all-new lip-sync battle — led by the winners of a children's talent show — as well as the ever-popular "Drum Jam" sessions, and a live performance by Hak-Gwai Lau, a proponent of didgeridoo, handpan and throat singing.

To Hofmann-Forster, these extras are the "essential components" of the Clockenflap experience, allowing "audience members to fully immerse themselves and connect on an emotional level".

The centerpiece, however, is a new Treasure Chest Theatre family show that "doesn't take itself too seriously", claims Carrete. Titled Peace on Earth: A Pigeon's Story, it follows Paddy the pigeon, who is bullied by two doves who have lost their olive branches. Audience members are invited to throw soft "snowballs" at Paddy, and join in a parody of the Prince song When Doves Cry.

"The goal is to create a sense of community," says Carrete. "And that's the thing I've always loved most about Clockenflap."

IF YOU GO

Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival

Dates: Dec 5-7

Venue: Central Harbourfront Event Space, 9 Lung Wo Road, Central.

clockenflap.com