Westward Ho

words rachel mok

A west-looking production is only one of two in the Silk Road Arts Festival to ask hard questions about life in Hong Kong.

As much as we may love the pure enjoyment and pleasure of performance art, a thought-provoking work often has the greatest impact in theatre: A work that forces you to rethink the way you see the world – it may, for instance, jolt you from the stupor of advertising brainwashing (eg slim = beautiful) or pose the subversive question whether it is valid to sacrifice all in the name of economic and social harmony. Flipping through the programme of the Silk Road Arts Festival, it is easy wonder if the two Hong Kong productions, Bun in the Cave andHeading West 2: The Curious Case of Sanzang, are the only two critical shows in the festival, as they reassess the history of China and plant doubts about sacrificingour cultural heritage for economic development. (please click to read full article)