Things to do at George Town Festival 2024

Double Bill of Jingju Magic

Known for their innovative fusion of contemporary consciousness and traditional opera, the internationally renowned Taiwanese GuoGang Opera Company brings a spellbinding Jingju performance to GTF this year, consisting of two classical excerpts: Avenging Zidu and Zhuangzi Tests His Wife. Dubbed ‘Eastern MacBeth’ and considered one of the most challenging plays for wusheng (the male martial arts role), Avenging Zidu is a tragic traditional opera that depicts the psychological damage of ambition and jealousy. Witness award-winning wusheng Li Jiade execute seemingly impossible physical feats and acrobatic stunts, all while being weighed down by heavy costume pieces. In Zhuangzi Tests His Wife, the philosopher Zuangzi fakes his death to test his wife Tian’s fidelity. Tian is played by Ling Chialin, who gives a commanding performance, placing the internal conflict of the female lead at the very centre of the play. Both plays show the Jingju actors transforming into spellcasters, creating a captivating spectacle on a minimalistic stage.

Date: July 20 and 21

Time: 2:30pm

Duration: 90 minutes

Language: Mandarin, with English and Mandarin subtitles

Venue: Dewan Budaya USM

Journal of Her House

A woman sits by her balcony window, staring into the distance and reminiscing about her experiences in Penang and her memories of being a family Majie.

Three Penang-based theatre companies have come together to showcase an immersive journey to uncover obscure history. Journal Georgetown was once the house of a Majie, a woman who migrated from China to work as a domestic servant. This theatrical collaboration transforms Journal’s heritage building into an immersive, site-specific experience as audiences navigate through maze-like spaces, experiencing the life of a Majie. 

Date: July 19 - 21, July 26 - 28

Time: 8pm (19th, 26th), 11am 2:30am 5pm (20th-21st, 27th-28th)

Duration: 95 minutes

Language: Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese

Venue: Journal Georgetown

C.O.R.E Homegrown Concert

Curated by Penang’s independent music label, ‘Uah Music Culture’, the CORE Independent Music Series aims to showcase the soul of a bustling George Town through music. Each of the free outdoor concerts in this series represents a different aspect of George Town: Cultural, Omni, Radiant, and Erratic. 

Cultural: Avartana, Anak Borneo, Culture Shot
Omni: Isaac Ho-Solo, DEMONDOLLS, ARVAN
Radiant: One Morr Time (pictured above), Damn Dirty Apes, Deepest
Erratic: PICKMYSTRINGS, GAND, Ling

Dates: July 20 (Cultural), July 21 (Ordinary), July 27 (Radiant), July 28 (Erratic)

Time: 7:30pm

Duration: 180 minutes

Venue: Sia Boey Urban Archaeological Park

Plant/Human Duo

Music does not only spring forth from human hands. Here, plants wield the power to orchestrate symphonies.

Delight in an eccentric, unique musical performance in which sounds are generated from a variety of plants. Using devices and sensors attached to a variety of plants, Bulgarian artist Mirian Kolev converts the plants’ biorhythms into sound waves and manipulates them with real-time sound effects. Audiences are invited to consider how nature can influence artistry in a multitude of manners.

*The artist will be having an unconventional music instrument workshop on July 21st (10am-11:30am) at The Courtyard @ Beach Street

Date: July 19-21

Time: 6:30pm

Duration: 60 minutes

Venue: The Courtyard @ Beach Street

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/// 1 0 /// - One Zero

This multidisciplinary performance is a collaborative experimental project between composer Ng Siu Yee and choreographer Steve Goh. As artists who witnessed the emergence of the digital era, Ng and Goh will explore how technology has extended the potential of storytelling through art. By experimenting with tools, machines, and the human body, they push the boundaries of traditional art forms. This intersection of dance, music, and technology will cover the tale of a monster—a creature known by many but remains abstract and undefined. Just like the monster, this performance is mythical, fluid, and imaginative and calls viewers to engage with and reflect on challenging themes such as human nature and the anxieties of society.

Date: July 26 - 28

Time: 2pm (July 27 and 28), 8pm (July 26 - 28)

Duration: 70 minutes

Language: multilingual, mostly non-verbal

Venue: Jetty35

Dancing in Place

This site-specific performance utilises living spaces to offer a new perspective on the art of dance. For dancers, the world is their stage, and their bodies move in tandem with the landscape around them. Audiences are guided to travel from one location to another to experience short dance works where performers engage with Penang’s architecture. This experimental project exhibits six choreographers transforming expectations about each location, showcasing how dance can happen anywhere.

Date: July 27 and 28

Time: 5pm

Duration: 120 minutes

Venue: Meeting point is Lily of the Alley (beside Shop Howard)

Same Same But Different

Soak in this collection that draws inspiration from two states in two different countries. Sasank Gopinathan, who hails from Kerala and currently resides in Penang, feels as though both regions have more in common than people may think. With his artwork, he aims to exhibit the beauty of Keralite culture and Penang, hoping to bridge divides by understanding the similarities and respecting the differences between these two culturally diverse states. The artist has carved graphite by hand with an assortment of blades to form sculptures that embody certain cultural similarities between the two states while introducing unique elements from both sides.

Date: July 19 - 28

Time: 12pm-8pm

Art Sharing & Exhibition Walkthrough: July 21, 11am-12:30pm

Venue: The FOUNDERS Hutton

Ban Ban Kia: Penang Shop Signs

George Town’s rich heritage as a multicultural hub of commerce is most evident in its shop signs. Designed to be equally functional and eye-catching, each sign is an aged work of art created by a skilled craftsman. But, in the modern day, they are overlooked and unappreciated, eroding with each passing day. This exhibition invites audiences to slow down and pay attention to Penang’s old shop signs before it's too late, as Penang herself is an open-air art gallery of shop signs. Walking tours, talks, and guide materials reveal the secrets of these pieces from a bygone time, as well as some of the stories behind them.

Check the official GTF 2024 website for further information on walking tours and workshops.

The Story Traveller

This storytelling experience invites children to open their suitcases and embark on an adventure, uncovering four timeless folktales along the way: The Princess of Mount Ledang, The Legend of the Nian Beast, The Elephant-Headed God Ganesha, and The Princess of Tanjung Bungah. Each storytelling session will be in one of five languages (Malay, Mandarin, English, Tamil, Hokkien), offering listeners an opportunity to experience these stories from different cultures in their most comfortable language. From mythical beasts to magical princesses, each tale carries the audience across cultures and through time.

Date: July 20 and 21, July 27 and 28

Time: 5 sessions between 2pm-7pm, each session lasting 20 minutes

Venue: Behind Yap Temple

Each session will be in one of five languages. Kindly note the language before purchasing tickets for a session.

The Kingdom of Childhood

Armenian Park’s greenery is transformed into a cosy arts playground, with a variety of ticketed artistic activities, such as dessert making and yarn crafts. Young explorers aged 6 to 13 are invited to enjoy the great outdoors, and accompanying adults can relax and take a break. Art activities are also available for adults who wish to escape the stresses of working life.

Date: July 20 and 21, July 27 and 28

Time: 8:30am-12pm, 3:30pm-7pm

Duration: 3.5 hours

Location: Armenian Park

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Pengalaman Prangin

Immerse yourself in a speculative roving performance that is part theatre, part-time travel, and part collective experience on memory, history, and space. Participate in a guided walk and cycle around Sia Boey Archaeological Park while listening to audio narration and soundscapes in your language of choice, and watch live dance, theatre, and vocal performances, which are speculative interpretations of the cultural, historical, and urban morphology of George Town throughout its history.

Date & Time: July 19 (7pm), July 20 and 21 (9am, 5pm, 7pm), July 26 (7pm), July 27 (9am, 5pm, 7pm), July 28 (9am, 5pm)

Duration: 90 minutes

Venue: Jalan Magazine (ends at Lorong Prangin)

Language: English, Malay, and Hokkien available

63-65: Notes From a Separation

This performance workshop is a collaboration between Singaporean and Malaysian artists, exploring parliamentary, archival, and speculative documents between Singapore and Malaysia. Engage in participatory activities involving parliamentary speeches from Hansard and national archives, props, and other relevant materials from 1963-1965. More than a workshop, it is a speculative and interrogative experience, encouraging contemplation of Singapore and Malaysia’s shared past, present, and future.

Date: July 19 and 20

Time: 10am

Duration: 3 hours

Language: English and Malay

Venue: Penang Harmony Centre

For more information, visit George Town Festival’s website.

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