A prominent Hong Kong theatre company, Windmill Grass Theatre, co-founded by popular performer Joey Leung Cho-yiu, has not been selected for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s (LCSD) sixth round of the Venue Partnership Scheme, marking the first time the group has been excluded since the program began 17 years ago. The exclusion from the influential government arts initiative comes as the troupe prepares for a major production next spring, shifting focus toward securing alternative performance spaces and maintaining creative momentum.
The Venue Partnership Scheme is a significant program that provides established arts groups with subsidized performance venues, administrative support, and opportunities for community engagement, offering crucial stability to Hong Kong’s performing arts sector. Windmill Grass Theatre’s absence from the recently announced list surprised many observers, given its long history and established audience base.
Responding to media inquiries regarding the decision, Leung acknowledged the public concern and expressed gratitude for the widespread support. He emphasized that the company’s immediate priority remained the successful staging of their upcoming play, Mòuqì (默契), scheduled for March of next year.
“We have received numerous messages, and we sincerely thank the audience for their concern,” Leung stated. “We will continue to explore different performance venues and investigate the possibilities of other spaces available to us.”
Leung made clear that the organizational setback would not derail the troupe’s immediate artistic commitments. “Our current urgent task is to concentrate on executing the staging of Mòuqì. The backstage work has already begun, and this incident will not be permitted to affect our mood or focus. We will diligently dedicate ourselves to ensuring the success of this March production; that remains paramount,” he asserted.
Impact on Hong Kong’s Arts Ecosystem
The LCSD’s Venue Partnership Scheme, established to foster the sustainable growth of local arts organizations and promote community access to the arts, typically runs for multiple years. Inclusion in the scheme offers substantial benefits, mitigating the crippling rental costs characteristic of the high-density urban environment. For established groups like Windmill Grass Theatre, which has a history of successful, often boundary-pushing, productions, this exclusion necessitates a rapid reallocation of resources and intensified efforts in seeking independently managed performance halls.
Arts critics highlight that the loss of subsidized operational space could pose logistical challenges, potentially impacting the scale or frequency of future performances. However, it also compels groups to enhance self-sufficiency and discover new, non-traditional spaces, which can sometimes lead to innovative staging and closer audience engagement.
As the theater company proceeds with its pre-production work for Mòuqì, the focus remains squarely on the creative process. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the volatile operational landscape faced by independent arts bodies, even those with decades of highly acclaimed work, underscoring the constant need for versatility and adaptability in navigating government funding cycles and resource competition within the cultural sector. The Hong Kong cultural community will closely watch Windmill Grass Theatre’s next steps as it seeks new avenues to bring its distinctive artistic vision to the public.
