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Winnipeg Free Press
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sheer provocation
Neither Here Nor There, a liminal comedy from Sick + Twisted Theatre, will certainly divide audiences. That is by design: as guests walk into the auditorium at Prairie Theatre Exchange, they're given the option to sit on either side of a patchwork curtain, predetermining at least one dimension of the unconventional experience to come. Well before Thursday evening's hostess, the insightful, freewheeling Lara Rae, induces the first of many chuckles, the concept of choice is already introduced, the first steps down individual paths of desire to be trodden by theatregoers venturing together into the dark unknown of an original production. BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS Vivi Dabee (right) and Vivian Cheung are separated by a curtain, allowing the audience to see half the stage. Billed as a retelling of the legend of Tiresias, who was turned into a woman and stripped of vision after forsaking the Greek gods, Neither Here Nor There boldly challenges widely accepted narratives surrounding disability, gender, autonomy and desire. Starring a mixture of blind, low-vision and sighted actors, working alongside trans performers, the production is built with a mission to construct and then dismantle binary thinking, tearing down brick walls and replacing them with open windows. One needn't be a Classics scholar to feel included, because Neither Here Nor There, written by committee and directed by Debbie Patterson, is loosely professorial in style, best exemplified by Rae's hilarious, honest autobiographical asides about her transition and a registered therapist's (Gislina Patterson) impassioned stump speech about the true value of public bathrooms, given to a sex-obsessed Zeus (Tyler Sneesby), who, to be fair, has his fair share of mother-father-sisterwife issues to work through. There's a rich endowment of male appendage jokes, a treasure trove of vagina jokes and some achingly silly puns about French geography that might land les auteurs in writers' gaol. From start to finish, Neither Here Nor There is an oddly compelling and compellingly odd concoction that forces audience members to consider the bias of their own perspectives, and whether their sightline is as clear as they'd previously thought. Because the set is bisected by a sheer curtain, each audience member's field of vision is intentionally blurred. On one side is the ancient domain of Tiresias (Vivi Dabee), who was rendered blind and turned into a woman for seeing too much and angering the gods, becoming an oracle with the ability to communicate most easily with winged friends. On the other is Ty (Vivian Cheung), a trend forecaster with a power that could make even Zeus quake with envy: with a single phone call, she can make skinny jeans cool again. Both performers rest on chaise longue, which provides one of the best running, or sitting, jokes in the show. If a piece of furniture can exist at the nexus of chair and couch, can't we find our identities somewhere in the middle, too? The production, a tad overlong at about 100 minutes, is strengthened by all elements of design, which support one another in novel ways. Before the action begins, a digital assistant, voiced by sound designer Dasha Plett, describes the set, which includes Zeus's home on Mount Olympus and the office of Ty's tech overlord boss. Then Plett describes the colour, style and material of each costume, designed by Sarah Struthers, introducing the actors wearing them with a healthy dose of shtick. 'Lara Rae is five-foot-10, and unlike Cinderella, she can't find a single shoe that fits.' Taking surprising turns, which are usually fruitful and less often belaboured, Neither Here Nor There is ultimately a well-crafted forum for honest, intentional theatre, rooted in purposeful listening, curiosity and reconsideration. The gods will agree on that. Ben WaldmanReporter Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University's (now Toronto Metropolitan University's) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben. Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
South China Morning Post
29-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Reputation of Hong Kong airport grows with facilities
After years with large areas shrouded in construction work, Hong Kong International Airport is just months away from opening a revamped second terminal that will hopefully help lift the city's status as a global aviation hub. Terminal 2 will open in stages from September, starting with the debut of a reconfigured hall that offers 41 parking spaces for cars, tour buses and coaches. The hall will host existing services all under the one roof, and will go into service just before the National Day 'golden week' holiday begins on the mainland. Airport Authority CEO Vivian Cheung Kar-fay said on Monday that some carriers, such as Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express, would be relocated to the second terminal in March next year. Check-in and departure services would be introduced early in the second quarter of next year, before a new concourse and facilities for arrivals were completed in 2027. The work is part of the airport's HK$141.5 billion expansion project that began in 2016, and the launch of a third runway last year was hailed as a 'game-changer' for aviation ambitions. Many cities the size of Hong Kong have had to build more than one airport, therefore it is heartening to see developments here keeping ahead of the expected growth in demand. Airlines are even being urged to put on more flights to take advantage of the increased capacity. Expansion, however, will require hard work. Last year, the airport handled 53.1 million passengers, 34.3 per cent more than in 2023. The level was still only 71 per cent of what it was in 2018 before the pandemic. Greater efficiency is a good start in the task of attracting travellers. Division of labour is planned for the two terminals. The new one will eventually be home to about 10 to 20 airlines and handling point-to-point flights and regional trips. Terminal 1 will serve airlines flying long-haul routes and operating morning flights. The airport already boasts strategic advantages thanks to nearby exhibition and tourism attractions as well as solid links to the mainland. With the new airport envisioned as becoming 'the landmark of Asia', the imminent arrival of more facilities is a welcome sign that the city is ready to soar back to its rightful place as a world-leading aviation centre.
HKFP
27-05-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Hong Kong airport's Terminal Two check-in counters set to reopen in March 2026
Check-in counters at Hong Kong International Airport's Terminal Two will reopen as early as March next year, the Airport Authority has announced. Airport Authority Chief Executive Officer Vivian Cheung said on Monday that the renovation work for Terminal Two was largely completed and that around a dozen airlines would be moving their check-in counters from Terminal One to Terminal Two starting in March. They include Hong Kong Express, Hong Kong Airlines, and Greater Bay Airlines, as well as other budget air carriers primarily running short-haul routes to places such as mainland China, Thailand and Japan. But in the first year, after checking in, passengers will still have to take the train to Terminal One to board their flights. The Terminal Two departure hall is expected to open in 2027. Terminal Two has been closed since 2019 due to construction work for the airport's third runway. It previously housed check-in counters mainly for budget airlines. The newly expanded facility – which cost HK$12.9 billion to build – will open in phases. First to start operations will be the terminal's coach hall, with 41 parking spaces for tour buses, cross-border buses, and other vehicles, set for late September. Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub was hit hard during Covid-19, when strict restrictions brought travel to a halt. Earlier this month, the Airport Authority said passenger traffic marked a 'new post-pandemic high' during the Easter holidays. The airport handled 5.19 million passengers, a year-on-year growth of more than 20 per cent, in April, the authority said.
South China Morning Post
26-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong airport's Terminal 2 to open in stages from September
Hong Kong airport's new second terminal will open in stages from September, starting with the debut of a coach hall, as part of the city's efforts to up its game as an international aviation hub. Advertisement The Airport Authority said on Monday that the first phase would involve the launch of the terminal's coach hall – a covered area with 41 parking spaces for limousines, tour buses and resident and cross-boundary coaches. The move means all such existing services will be relocated under the same roof. Vivian Cheung Kar-fay, the authority's CEO, said that some carriers, such as Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express, would be relocated to the second terminal in March of next year. The site's terminal concourse and new arrival services are set to launch in 2027, she added. Advertisement 'Terminal 2 will have airlines serving point-to-point destinations, so they are more about regional services,' said Cheung, who was promoted to CEO in April after previously serving in an acting leadership position.
