Hong Kong will be the first city in Asia to see the newly revived Tristan & Yseult when it arrives at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre from February 24 to 27, 2027. The February 27 performance is sponsored by Queen’s Museum皇者仁風.
Presented as part of the 55th Hong Kong Arts Festival, the production offers a rare chance to catch a modern theatre classic fresh on stage.
The show retells the mediaeval romance through live music, humour, storytelling and aerial acrobatics, making the centuries-old tale feel lively and immediate onstage.
The Story And What To Expect
Tristan & Yseult is based on the mediaeval Cornish legend that later inspired Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde and many other works.
At the centre is a love triangle between King Mark, his queen-to-be Yseult and Tristan, the man sent to bring her back to Cornwall. Tristan and Yseult fall in love, setting up a story of loyalty, desire, heartbreak and impossible choices.
This new production uses comedy, direct storytelling and a live band to keep the story moving, with aerial acrobatics adding a playful physical edge.
The action is framed through “The Club of the Unloved”, giving audiences an unusual way into the romance. It can shift quickly between laughter and sadness, so newcomers do not need any knowledge of the original myth, Wagner’s opera or its many later adaptations.
Emma Rice And The Production’s 20-Year Journey
Emma Rice is an acclaimed British theatre director known for turning classic stories into inventive stage productions. She previously served as Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe and is considered one of the UK’s most influential and popular directors.
Hong Kong audiences may already know her work: Wuthering Heights was a standout success at the 2025 Hong Kong Arts Festival.
Tristan & Yseult is one of her best-known productions. First created with Kneehigh in 2003, it has spent more than two decades travelling to London, New York and other cities worldwide.
The production has now been revived and reworked for a new tour, with Hong Kong becoming its first stop in Asia.
Elsewhere, the 55th Hong Kong Arts Festival features the dance-theatre production Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the contemporary theatre revival Lysistrata, a new Chinese production of Macbeth, and Robert Wilson’s experimental theatre work UBU. If you’re interested in more events from the Hong Kong Arts Festival, visit the official website.
Event Details
📆Date & Time: February 24-26, 2027 at 7:30pm; February 27 at 2:30pm
⏱️Duration: Around 2 hours 5 minutes, including one interval
📍Venue: Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui
🎟️ Tickets: HK$240, HK$320, HK$440, HK$560 and HK$680. Discounts available for full-time local student.
🌐Website: https://visit.hkaf.org/2vocrlcs
🗣️Language: Performed in English with Chinese surtitles
👨👩👧 Age: Recommended for ages 8 and above
Header image credit: HKAF