Benny Chia (simplified Chinese: 谢俊兴; traditional Chinese: 謝俊興; pinyin: Xiè Jùn Xing) is an author, festival director, curator, and an active member in the Hong Kong arts scene. He founded the Hong Kong Fringe Club in 1984, modelled after the Adelaide Festival Fringe, and turned a disused ice depot on Lower Albert Road in Central Hong Kong into a vibrant arts venue: the Fringe Club. The history of Fringe Club is covered in Benny Chia's memoir Life on the Fringe – The Almost Naked Memoir, published by Hong Kong University Press and MCCM Creations in November 2024.
Career
Raised in a single-parent and deprived family, Chia turned his life around through his innate love for arts and education, and became the first non-British in charge of a fly-by-night arts arts outfit during the days of colonial Hong Kong in the 1980s. Born in Singapore and educated in Hong Kong, Paris and Louvain, Benny Chia 謝俊興 launched the Hong Kong Fringe Festival in 1983, founded the Fringe Club in 1984 and steered the Fringe Club as General Manager and Artistic Director through to 2022 – almost forty years. He created artistic concepts and wrote scripts for the theatre, and wrote articles for the South China Morning Post and other publications. Chia is a founding member of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association. Honours awarded include the Bronze Bauhinia Star from the HKSAR Government, the Badge of Honour from the former Hong Kong Government, Best Arts Promoter from the Hong Kong Artists Guild, and Hero of Hong Kong from Time Out Magazine.
Chia curated multiple arts exhibitions, notably, frogtopia – hongkornucopia, as part of the Venice Art Biennale 2011, featuring Hong Kong artist Frog King; Ac.cul.tur.at.ion; Shirt Art; Dare to Dream; Almost Blue; and others.
Playwright and stage production
| Title | Year | Producers | Venue | Country | Director and Main Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Fable | 1986 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Fringe Theatre, | Hong Kong, Macau | Producer: Benny Chia
Director: Desmond Jones Mime artists: Philip Fok & Cheng Pok Yee |
| Six Chapters of a Floating Life | 1987 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Premiered in 'A Celebration of Hong Kong Artist, City Hall Silver Jubilee' on 19th October 1987 | Toured in Forum, Macau; Price Theatre, Adelaide; National Theatre, Taipei; Carnivale, Sydney | Director & Choreographer: Kaitai Chan,
Concept and Script: Benny Chia Cast: Lindzay Chan; Philip Fok |
| Lament of Sim Kim | 1991 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Chinese Theatrical Arts Festival 1991, City Hall Theatre | Hong Kong | Director & choreographer: Kaitai Chan
Concept & Script: Benny Chia |
| Great Expectations | 1992 | Hong Kong Fringe Club & Sydney Theatre Company co-production | Festival of Asian Arts Opening Programme, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Grand Theatre | Hong Kong | Director: Rodney Fisher
Concept: Kaitai Chan Scriptwriter: Benny Chia Design: Ho Ying Fung |
| Lianne & Chuck | 1996 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong | Directed & choreographed by Kai Tai Chan
Concept: Kaitai Chan Script: Benny Chia Collages: Christopher Doyle |
| Play the Old City
Once Upon the Time in Wong Uk Hong Kong at War - a city of love and betrayal |
1999-2002 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Site-specific performances at Wong Uk, Shatin, Hong Kong; Coastal Defence Museum | Hong Kong | Concept: Benny Chia
Script: Lung Man Hong Director: Tang Shu Wing Heritage consultant: Professor Shiu Kwok Kin |
| Ho Chi Ming in Hong Kong | 2006 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | CPS Central Police Compound & the Fringe Club | Hong Kong | Producer: Benny Chia
Director: Peter Jordon Concept & Script by Peter Wesley-Smith Dramaturg: William Gluth Cast: Lee Chun Chow |
| 體驗劇場：她和他的時間之流 | 2017 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong | Producer: Benny Chia
Scriptwriter: Pat To Yang Director: Indy Lee |
| 意識之流 Stream of Consciousness | 2018 | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong Fringe Club | Hong Kong | Producer: Benny Chia
Director: Yan Pat To |
Retirement and Authorship
Benny Chia retired from the Fringe Club in 2022 and started his career as an author with his first book Life on the Fringe – The Almost Naked Memoir, published in 2024 by Hong Kong University Press and MCCM Creations.
References
- ^ "Benny Chia, Director, Hong Kong Fringe Club". HKAAA. Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- "How Hong Kong's cultural hub came to be ... thanks to one man's fascination with an abandoned building". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ Life on the Fringe – the Almost Naked Memoir. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, MCCM. 18 November 2024. p. 368. ISBN 978-9888842957. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ "Life on the Fringe - The Almost Naked Memoir by Benny Chia". MCCM Creations. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- "The Lyricism of Robert Hurdle By Benny Chia, South China Morning Post". Robert Hurdle. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- "Benny Chia". The University of Chicago Press. The University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- "Benny Chia". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- "frog king: hong kong pavilion at venice art biennale 2011". DesignBoom.com. DAAily Platforms. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- "體驗劇場：她和他的時間之流". Fringe Club. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- "她和他意識之流". Fringe Club. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- "Uncertain future for Hong Kong's Fringe Club as lease expires next March and operators set to stand down". SCMP. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
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