Drama’s Being and Time: Hong Kong Playwrights on the Gap between Theatre and Society

Drama is an ancient art form, yet at the same time a metaphor on which the life of modern society depends and a reference with which the modern person establishes meanings in life. From the perspective of theatricality, drama is not only already deeply embedded in various modern and contemporary art forms, but has also played a vital role in micro- and macro-politics in the so-called “post-truth era”: whether as a ritual that accords emotional recognition to the powers that be or as political propaganda taken to be a weapon of resistance, various performances of great theatricality have been able, in response to the social and cultural environment of the moment, to interact with “audiences” in differing senses of the word and, by mobilising them emotionally, open up all kinds of social relationships as well as social identities that derive from them.

However, many Hong Kong theatre practitioners are not content to view theatre as a political tool that replicates and reinforces ideologies; rather, invoking the dialectical relationship between drama and reality that has been tangled from time immemorial, they wish to open up the possibility of intervening in the process of reproduction in society and alter the course of history in a broad sense. Indeed, as an “event” that exists in society, a dramatic performance should never be regarded as an ephemeral past occurrence that exists only in abstract memory, but has always shown a symbiotic relationship with its reality. Therefore, “liveness” and “uniqueness”, which have almost become clichés but have always been characteristics boasted by dramatic performances, should not be regarded as means by which drama is to be freed from the heaviness of history, but as coordinates that accurately check the pulse of society and guide us in traversing and reshaping reality through the sundry radiating powers of theatre.

The year 2019 was probably an unforgettable year for most Hong Kong people, whatever their personal views and backgrounds. From the “Anti-Extradition Bill” movement that began in the middle of 2019 to the passage of the National Security Law in the middle of 2020, which apparently has put a stop to a continuous clamour akin to improvisation, we seem to have come to a moment where the tide is slowing ebbing. Yet, in a coastline full of rugged rocks, we seem to see the contours, beautiful or ugly, of Hong Kong society better than at any other moment. At this historical moment, what do Hong Kong theatre practitioners think about their position in Hong Kong society and the future? In the chaotic current situation, an interview with four Hong Kong playwrights may throw light on Hong Kong theatre and where Hong Kong society is headed.