Sunbeam closure a real tear-jerker, says Cantonese opera playwright

Eunice Lam

Witnessing the closure of Sunbeam Theatre in North Point is as upsetting as watching a loved one leave, says Cantonese opera playwright Edward Li Kui-ming, who took the helm of the iconic 52-year-old venue in 2012.

Lawmakers had called on the government to help preserve the city's Cantonese opera culture, while scholars suggested the government should first enhance education and expand the audience base.

Li told Sing Tao Daily, The Standard's sister publication, that while the theater will cease operation on March 3, he will have an "important meeting" with Sunbeam's new landlord - Island Evangelical Community Church - to discuss its future development.

The Cantonese opera theater on King's Road was first established in 1972, and Li has been renting Sunbeam since 2012, until Island ECC bought the property last year for HK$750 million.

After the theater closes in March, it will undergo renovations "in the next few years," according to Island ECC, adding that it welcomes organizations to hold activities that "benefit the community" as the church moves in afterward.

Sunbeam's closure hit at the heart of the city's Cantonese opera culture, Li said.

"It is not just a matter of finding a new performance venue, but a death and an end to a cultural landmark, strangulating and withering the Cantonese opera culture," he said, hoping to reach a deal with Island ECC as soon as possible to preserve particular installations at Sunbeam.

"It is such a pity and upsetting to see [that the theater] is closing, it feels like a family member of mine is leaving."

Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, lawmaker for the sports, performing arts, culture and publication sectors said Sunbeam has been a cultural icon in North Point, and urged the authorities to offer help to the Cantonese opera industry, which has been affected by its closure.

But Leung Bo-wah, a professor at the Education University of Hong Kong's Department of Cultural and Creative Arts, said that although the number of Cantonese opera performances had doubled, audience numbers had remained static throughout the past decade.

Leung said that "if the other problems are not improved, even if there is one more [theater], or if Sunbeam Theatre is retained," it would not make a big difference for the industry.