100% Hong Kong at the Xiqu Center

A review of the stage performance 100% Hong Kong is long overdue.

We booked the tickets to the 100% Hong Kong show back in June for a showtime in late October.  And it was worth the long wait.

100% Hong Kong was going to make its debut in 2019.  Both production and performance ceased because of the social events that year.  Due to its somewhat political nature, it did not rehearse again until the political climate in Hong Kong has become more settled, albeit a lot more draconian, two years later in 2021.  I really commend the producer and performers for putting together this show.

The idea of the 100% show originated from Rimini Protokoll, a theatre production group in Germany.  The 100% Hong Kong show is a collaboration with the local theatre production group On & On Theatre Workshop.

A Tremendously Difficult Production

100% Hong Kong gathers 100 non-professional actors for a series of question-and-answer sessions, in which they all express their preferences by “voting,” or “polling” in different manners.

These 100 performers possess characteristics that are 100% representative of Hong Kong’s demographics.  This suggests that the collective preferences expressed on the show on various (and sometimes sensitive) questions are representative of Hong Kong people’s preferences and experiences.

The original show was scheduled for 2019.  The events of 2019 called for a stop of this show.  Thereafter, 50 out of the original 100 actors dropped out.  The producers had to redo the whole recruitment again.  Even before 2019, it was going to be very difficult to get 100 Hong Kongers to invest time in rehearsing for a somewhat impromptu show.  Due to the political climate in Hong Kong, the expression of ideas, namely the asking of questions, had to be predetermined and well-rehearsed beforehand as well.

The casting proceeds by recruiting the first member on the show, and I do assume that it is Robert Chung (see below).  Then that person has to recruit another one, with some certain characteristics that meet a stated profile.  This next person then recruits another one, and so on, until 100 actors agree to perform.  According to the programme, this process is “an artistic work in and of itself.”

The original 100% show debuted in Berlin, named 100% City.  It staged with 100 Berliners between the ages of 6 months and 90 years.  The cast performed in five cities, and not one question asked was repeated in all five cities.

Form – Politics Fused with Art

Art is a creative expression of ideas.  Although art often serves as the proper channel for politics, a stage performance that features the opinion poll as the art form itself is unusual.  What gives form to the expression of ideas is a series of voting exercise.

Perhaps some details will illustrate it better.  Someone in the group of 100 performers ask a question.  Then every performer will express his or her preference by voting.  They can “vote with their feet” (literally) by walking to the “yes” or “no” group.  In another session, they can raise color cards to express their choice, and the audience can judge the popularity of a certain choice by seeing the color distribution on stage.  In still another session they do “anonymous voting,” whereby they simply light up their phones to their preferred choice in a dimmed stage.  The questions asked in this session were, properly considered, “more private matters.”

Substance – The Show

So this is about a fusion of politics and art, and it sounds mighty serious.  When the show begins, I did think it would get heavy and perhaps even a little tedious.  But this is truly an exceptional group of lay performers.

First of all, the key performer, the first person that does the opening, is the well-known statistician Robert Ting Yiu Chung.  He heads the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute.  He does the longest self-introduction of the group, and his status as the head of Hong Kong’s most notable polling agency is very apt for this type of creative venture.  It is heartwarming to see him on stage, especially after the events of 2019.

What follows then are 99 people, all non-professional actors, who were recruited to the show one by one through referral.  Each comes on stage to do a self-introduction.  Quite a number of them bring a token of identification.  Some bring a toy, some dress up.  For example, the newspaper delivery man brings a newspaper with him on stage, so that the audience can identify him among the group.

And the ways with which they introduce themselves are very humorous.  The self-introduction session strikes immediate rapport with the audience.  As we learn about the actors one by one, we could see that like them, we are the ordinary Hong Kong, and 100% so.  It also surprises me how much I remember these individuals during the show when they vote or when they ask questions.

After the introduction, the show proceeds to some basic demographics of the group to establish the fact that these one hundred people possess the characteristics that represent 100% of Hong Kong’s demographics.  They present questions such as the region where you live, your age and others on the basic characteristics of the group.

There are humour points throughout the show.  For example, someone asks the question of whether you have a crush on someone in the group during this whole time of rehearsal together.  Then someone asks if you absolutely detest someone in the group.  We can gather the uneasy sense that there is a clear split of opinions in terms of the actors’ support or opposition to the social events of 2019.

At some point, the audience is engaged in the show.  The audience is asked whether there is any question that you must not ask in this creative venture.  Some actually say yes to that.

Then comes some more sensitive questions.  Have you previously participated in the protests of 2019?  Should Hong Kong allow more immigrants from China?  Have you served a sentence in jail before?  Have you had unconsented sex?

Some Thoughts

I think this show is a great success, especially at this difficult time for Hong Kong.  The air of free expression is felt throughout the show.  My mind can breathe as I watched.  According to the programme, “100% Hong Kong is a gathering that is a city, a group beginning to experience itself, one body with 100 minds, assembled into ever-changing new group pictures –fleeting portraits of belonging and separation, an assembly that celebrates diversity and life.”  I do think the group has shown this aspect amply throughout the show.

Perhaps a point of lesser importance is the venue.  It is my first time visiting the Xiqu Center, and surely it is grand and beautiful.  This type of show was probably more fitting in the Freespace.  Indeed, it was the intended venue for the show originally.  But the Xiqu Center is just as good.

Sources

The 100% Hong Kong Programme, published by the organizers of the performance.