Lindsey McAlister

Last updated

Lindsey McAlister
OBE
Lindsey McAlister, theatre director.png
Lindsey McAlister in 2021
Born
Lindsey Anne McAlister

(1960-10-30)30 October 1960
Southport, England
OccupationTheatre director
Known forFounder of Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation
Spouses
Peter Inglis
(m. 1990;div. 1999)
Donald Greig
(m. 2014)
Children1
Website[www.hkyaf.com HKYAF]

Lindsey McAlister OBE (b. 30 October 1960) is an English theatre director and writer based in Hong Kong. She founded the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (HKYAF) (formerly Youth Arts Festival) in 1993. [1] She has written several original musicals, including Flesh (2007), Melodia (2017), Cube Culture (2018), If Not Me, Who? (2019) and I'mperfect (2022). Since 2024 she began exhibiting abstract paintings, including the Hong Kong Affordable Art Fair. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Lindsey Anne McAlister was born in Southport to parents George McAlister, a factory manager, and Sylvia née Cardwell, a civil servant. [3] She has two younger brothers. The family moved to Scotland when she was eight, [4] and then to Cheshire, where she attended Knutsford High School and Meol Cops High School. Watching a school production of Iolanthe at the age of nine [5] and subsequently joining a youth theatre group “ignited [her] passion for theatre and the performing arts”. [6] She attended Southport Art College from 1976 – 1978. The first year of her degree was at I.M. Marsh Campus (formerly part of Liverpool John Moore University), transferring to Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education (now part of Manchester Metropolitan University) when the course folded. She graduated with a BA(Hons) in Creative Arts. [7]

Early work

McAlister originally wanted to be a performer but “early on, I realised I was rubbish and found that directing was my forte – to suit my bossy personality”. [8] After graduating, McAlister formed a company, Talking Pictures, which was supported by the Arts Council of Great Britain. [9] She also worked for the Gulbenkian Foundation, implementing the “Arts in Schools” project. [10] She joined Liverpool-based company 489 as a creator and performer, then became arts programmer for the Menai Centre in Anglesey. She also worked with the Cheshire Dance Workshop from 1982 to 1985, [11] where dance lecturer Veronica Lewis gave her opportunities to choreograph and create shows. [12]

Hong Kong

In 1986 McAlister arrived in Hong Kong at the end of a year-long trip around Southeast Asia. Her intention was to return to the UK to resume a job with the Arts Council. However, she felt strongly that she should stay in Hong Kong, so “I rang the UK and resigned!” [13] She spent a year teaching English in a kindergarten, choreographing fashion shows and as an artist-in-residence for Quarry Bay Primary School. [14]

She created a project Showcase for Choreographers with the Hong Kong Dance Forum [15] which in 1990 developed into the Scrambled Legs youth dance company [16] and the youth theatre company Roundabout. [17] Around the same time, she also started Parkview Youth Theatre Company, Plastic Bag Theatre Company, Waterworks Youth Theatre Company and Fusion Performance Company. [18]

Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (HKYAF)

McAlister founded the Hong Kong Youth Arts Festival (HKYAF) in 1993 – it changed its name to Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation in 2006 – for people aged 5–25, regardless of cultural background, language or ability, to engage in multidisciplinary arts. Her intention was that she “didn’t want anybody to have to pay for anything” [19] so needed to find external funding to cover all expenses. Initially, unable to find a sponsor due to her lack of track record in Hong Kong, she took out a personal overdraft to cover the costs of the first two-week festival. She sent a copy of the festival brochure to everyone she had approached for sponsorship, including Po Chung, the then-head of DHL (Asia). He got in touch with her, asking who her sponsor was. Hearing that McAlister was funding the whole enterprise herself, Po Chung gave her a cheque to cover the 1993 festival's costs, and also paid for the next festival too. [20] [21] McAlister was HKYAF's primary fundraiser from 1993 to 2019, about which she said “I really enjoy seeking sponsorship and I have developed a talent for it.” [22]

HKYAF Productions

McAlister has directed the following productions for HKYAF:

YearTitleVenueRoleNotes / Ref.
1998MatildaShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre Adaptor, Director
Godspell St John's Cathedral, CentralDirector [23]
1999MatildaVenue 34 at Edinburgh Festival Fringe Adaptor, DirectorMusic by Nick Harvey [24]
West Side Story Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [25]
The Magic Flute Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [26]
2000 Grease Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [27]
2001 Little Shop of Horrors Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [28]
The Secret Garden Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [29]
2002 Bugsy Malone Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [30]
2003 Blood Brothers Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [31]
The Wiz Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [32]
2004 Footloose Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [33]
2005 Fame Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [34]
2006 Disco Infernal Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [35]
2007Insomnia Fringe Club, CentralDirector
2008Lear’s DaughtersFringe Club, CentralAdaptor
Director
2009 Sweeney Todd Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [36]
Storm in a TeacupFringe Club, CentralDirector
2010 Rent Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [37]
2011 Spring Awakening Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [38]
The Story of a GirlFringe Club, CentralDirector
2012 Godspell Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [39]
2013 A Chorus Line Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [40]
2014 Oliver! Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [41]
2015The Evil WithinChinese International School AuditoriumDirector [42]
Blood Brothers Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts AmphitheatreDirector [43]
2017MelodiaQueen Elizabeth Stadium, Causeway BayWriter, DirectorWith music by Violaine Corradi and Rose Winebrenner [44]
2018FameShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector [45]
2019If Not Me, Who?ArtisTree, Quarry BayWriter, DirectorPart of Theatre Bites series. Music by Violaine Corradi [46]
2020#HashtagShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreWriter, Director [47]
2021 Only a GirlShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreWriter, Director [48]
2022I’mperfectShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreWriter, Director [49]
202324:7:365The Box, West Kowloon Cultural District Writer, Director [50]
2024Gen LastThe Box, West Kowloon Cultural District Writer, Director

Lindsey McAlister Productions

In 1995 McAlister took a one-woman show Obsession is Not a Perfume to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. [51]

In 2002, alongside her youth work, McAlister established a production company for adults. Originally called Bloody Offal Productions, [52] she changed its name to Lindsey McAlister Productions in 2005. [53] It has produced the following shows to date:

YearTitleVenueRoleNotes / Ref.
2002Sweeney ToddShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector
Producer
Produced under Bloody Offal Productions [54]
2003Blood BrothersShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector
Producer
Produced under Bloody Offal Productions [55]
2004 Into the Woods Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector
Producer
Produced under Bloody Offal Productions [56]
2005A Chorus LineShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector
Producer
[57]
2006GodspellShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreDirector
Producer
[58]
2007
2008
FleshShouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts CentreWriter
Director
Producer
Music by Nick Harvey [59] [60]
2018Cube CultureArtisTree, Quarry BayWriter
Director
Music by Nick Harvey [61]
2023Mou Man TaiArtisTree, Quarry BayWriter
Director
For Swire Properties' Project After 6 (PA6) [62]

Collaborations

McAlister has collaborated with Violaine Corradi (composer musician, Cirque du Soleil), [63] Nick Harvey (composer), Marsha Roddy (set and costume designer), Rose Winebrenner (composer musician, Cirque du Soleil) [64] and Brian Zellinger (Tony Award-winning producer). [65]

Original productions

Visual arts

After a 40-year hiatus, McAlister returned to her visual art practice in 2022, creating a collection of Hong Kong-inspired artworks of “mix-n-match collages”. [66] She has since exhibited paintings at Hong Kong's 2024 Affordable Art Fair, represented by Kambal Gallery. [67]

Honours and awards

References

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