Benny Chia
Benny Chia (simplified Chinese: 谢俊兴; traditional Chinese: 謝俊興; pinyin: Xiè Jùn Xing) is an author, festival director, curator, and an active member in the Hong Kong arts scene. He founded the Hong Kong Fringe Club in 1984,[1] modelled after the Adelaide Festival Fringe, and turned a disused ice depot on Lower Albert Road in Central Hong Kong into a vibrant arts venue: the Fringe Club. The history of Fringe Club is covered in Benny Chia's memoir Life on the Fringe – The Almost Naked Memoir,[2] published by Hong Kong University Press and MCCM Creations in November 2024.[3][4]
Career
[edit]Raised in a single-parent and deprived family, Chia turned his life around through his innate love for arts and education, and became the first non-British in charge of a fly-by-night arts outfit during the days of colonial Hong Kong in the 1980s.[3] Born in Singapore and educated in Hong Kong, Paris and Louvain, Benny Chia 謝俊興[5] launched the Hong Kong Fringe Festival in 1983, founded the Fringe Club in 1984 and steered the Fringe Club as General Manager and Artistic Director through to 2022 – almost forty years.[3] He created artistic concepts and wrote scripts for the theatre, and wrote articles for the South China Morning Post and other publications.[6][7] Chia is a founding member of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association.[1] Honours awarded include the Bronze Bauhinia Star from the HKSAR Government, the Badge of Honour[8] from the former Hong Kong Government, Best Arts Promoter from the Hong Kong Artists Guild, and Hero of Hong Kong from Time Out Magazine.[1]
Chia curated multiple arts exhibitions, notably, frogtopia – hongkornucopia,[9] as part of the Venice Art Biennale 2011, featuring Hong Kong artist Frog King; Ac.cul.tur.at.ion; Shirt Art; Dare to Dream; Almost Blue; and others.[3]
Playwright and stage production
[edit]| Title[3] | Year | Producers | Venue | Country | Director and Main Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Fable | 1986 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Fringe Theatre, | Hong Kong, Macau | Producer: Benny Chia
Director: Desmond Jones Mime artists: Philip Fok & Cheng Pok Yee |
| Six Chapters of a Floating Life | 1987 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Premiered in 'A Celebration of Hong Kong Artist, City Hall Silver Jubilee' on 19 October 1987 | Toured in Forum, Macau; Price Theatre, Adelaide; National Theatre, Taipei; Carnivale, Sydney | Director & Choreographer: Kaitai Chan,
Concept and Script: Benny Chia Cast: Lindzay Chan; Philip Fok |
| Lament of Sim Kim | 1991 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Chinese Theatrical Arts Festival 1991, City Hall Theatre | Hong Kong | Director & choreographer: Kaitai Chan
Concept & Script: Benny Chia |
| Great Expectations | 1992 | Hong Kong Fringe Club & Sydney Theatre Company co-production | Festival of Asian Arts Opening Programme, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Grand Theatre | Hong Kong | Director: Rodney Fisher
Concept: Kaitai Chan Scriptwriter: Benny Chia Design: Ho Ying Fung |
| Lianne & Chuck | 1996 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong | Directed & choreographed by Kai Tai Chan
Concept: Kaitai Chan Script: Benny Chia Collages: Christopher Doyle |
| Play the Old City
Once Upon the Time in Wong Uk Hong Kong at War - a city of love and betrayal |
1999-2002 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Site-specific performances at Wong Uk, Shatin, Hong Kong; Coastal Defence Museum | Hong Kong | Concept: Benny Chia
Script: Lung Man Hong Director: Tang Shu Wing Heritage consultant: Professor Shiu Kwok Kin |
| Ho Chi Ming in Hong Kong | 2006 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | CPS Central Police Compound & the Fringe Club | Hong Kong | Producer: Benny Chia
Director: Peter Jordon Concept & Script by Peter Wesley-Smith Dramaturg: William Gluth Cast: Lee Chun Chow |
| 體驗劇場：她和他的時間之流[10] | 2017 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong | Producer: Benny Chia
Scriptwriter: Pat To Yang Director: Indy Lee |
| 意識之流 Stream of Consciousness[11] | 2018 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong | Producer: Benny Chia
Director: Yan Pat To |
Retirement and authorship
[edit]Benny Chia retired from the Fringe Club in 2022[12] and started his career as an author with his first book Life on the Fringe – The Almost Naked Memoir, published in 2024 by Hong Kong University Press[3] and MCCM Creations.[4]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Benny Chia, Director, Hong Kong Fringe Club". HKAAA. Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ↑ "How Hong Kong's cultural hub came to be ... thanks to one man's fascination with an abandoned building". South China Morning Post. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Life on the Fringe – the Almost Naked Memoir. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, MCCM Creations. 18 November 2024. p. 368. ISBN 978-9888842957. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- 1 2 "Life on the Fringe - The Almost Naked Memoir by Benny Chia". MCCM Creations. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ↑ "BennyChia.com". BennyChia.com.
- ↑ "The Lyricism of Robert Hurdle By Benny Chia, South China Morning Post". Robert Hurdle. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ↑ "Benny Chia". The University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ↑ "Benny Chia". South China Morning Post. 26 October 1997. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ↑ "frog king: hong kong pavilion at venice art biennale 2011". DesignBoom.com. DAAily Platforms. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ↑ "體驗劇場：她和他的時間之流". Fringe Club. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ↑ "她和他意識之流". Fringe Club. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ↑ "Uncertain future for Hong Kong's Fringe Club as lease expires next March and operators set to stand down". SCMP. South China Morning Post. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2025.