incorporation in 2006. Accordingly, the sixth Council was elected at an Annual General Meeting held on 20 September, with Messrs Vincent Chow, Chris Chung and Rupert Chan retaining their positions as Chairman, Vice Chairman and Treasurer, respectively. The Council kept its Members at 10, of whom 3 – namely, Dr Thomas Luk, Mr David Mong and Miss Carmen Choi – were appointed by the Government for a term of two years ending 2008. The Council met five times during the year, with agendas including the Company’s programme proposals, production reports, marketing plans, financial statements, funding applications, venue p a r t n e r s h i p a n d s t a ff p o l i c i e s . T h e E x e c u t i v e Committee and the Artistic Committee also met in between Council meetings on issues regarding artistic direction, choice of programmes, marketing strategy and recruitment of, as well as remunerations for, suitable staff. To promote the Company’s 30th anniversary, the Marketing Working Group, under the chairmanship of Dr John Yeung, initiated its work in November 2006.
Staff Profile and Movement The Company maintained a force of 51 personnel, comprising 26 artistic staff, 12 stage management persons and 13 administrative officers. Veteran artists Lee Tze-tsim and Chan Lai-hing retired in March 2007. Three other younger artists, namely Kwok Tsz-wan, Kwok Chi-wai and Hung Yinghei, also left at the end of their respective contracts to pursue other interests. They were subsequently replaced by new recruits Rosa Maria Velasco, Wong Kin-tung and Huang Xianguang. Moreover, the Technical Department had the opportunity to take on a Trainee to strengthen its Wardrobe workforce.
Main Stage Productions and Rep 2 Attempts The Company mounted 3 new productions on its main stage during the year: Blindness, an allegorical play adapted from a novel originally written in Portuguese; Dust and Dawn, an original, swordsmen play; and Art, a French comedy. The Company also revived 3 reserved plays: the musical drama, Love in a Fallen City; the black comedy, Haunted Haunted Little Star; and the historical drama, De Ling and
playwrights, directors, actors and designers were invited to work together in some of these main stage productions. The Putonghua rendition of De Ling and Empress Dowager Ci Xi was a fortuitous match with the “Putonghua Festival 2006”, presented by the Education and Manpower Bureau’s Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) for the purpose of promoting Putonghua among Hong Kong students. Providing a platform for new works developed in-house or externally, the Company staged 3 Rep 2 productions at the Black Box Theatre: The Chaochow Groom, The Lost and Found Trilogy and this happy VALLEY is VERY happy. The HKRep also lent its support to Theatre Space for a Black Box performance commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of the contemporary theatre master Henrik Ibsen. Altogether 54,723 persons, comprising students as well as the general public, attended the Company’s 119 shows (88 main stage performances and 31 Rep 2 shows) this year, accounting for an average attendance rate of 90%. These statistics demonstrate the Company not only met the audience targets stipulated by its chief benefactor, the HKSAR Government, but also far exceeded its 2005/06 audience size (45,272) and attendance rate (85%). Total income from box office receipts, advertising and sponsorship deals reached HK$7.40M, against a total expenditure of HK$11.00M for production, promotion, venue and ticketing costs. We were therefore able to maintain a comparatively low production subsidy level of 33% (on average) this year.
Local Awards The Company’s 2006 productions received 12 nominations and 4 citations at the 16th Hong Kong Drama Awards. Wong Wai-chi was named Best Actress in a Tragedy/Drama for her performance in De Ling and Empress Dowager Ci Xi, while Blindness
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and Xinai on Rock were selected among the Ten Most Popular Productions of the Year.
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The Company entered its sixth year of
Empress Dowager Ci Xi. Both local and overseas
H ON G K ON G R EPERTORY TH E ATRE A NNU A L RE P ORT
The Corporate Council