Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio (Hong Kong)
Candace Chong
Tang Shu-wing
Ng Wai-shek, Wong Kwok-kei, Wong Siu-fai, Pang Ngan-ling, To Chun-yiu, Leong, Anna Leng-leng, Vong Tin-ian
Leong Wai-ngok
2009
113 minutes
About the performance
Adapted from the goriest work of Shakespeare. Titus Andronicus 2.0 is hailed as one of the most significant events of Hong Kong contemporary theatre in 2009, then taken on tour to cities in Europe and Asia onwards. Director Tang Shu-wing adopts an audacious and ground-breaking approach in presenting the revenge classic of the Roman General Titus Andronicus by story-telling with a holistic physical expression and live music in a minimalist aesthetics: an empty stage lit measurably on seven chairs and actors commuting between the capacities of characters and narrators. An intensively collaborative training and multiple narrations from improvised experimentation give birth to a, radiantly gigantic energy. This play represents an adventurous trip to explore the essence of theatre, inevitably guiding audiences with primal forces and immense imagination to the black holes in our hearts, embarking a bold journey of self-reflection, awakening and internal cleansing. This work is both Shakespeare and non-Shakespeare.
About Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio
Founded and registered as No Man’s Land in 1997, the company is renamed to Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio in 2011. It is a centre for theatrical research and creation. We believe that Art is a space for feeling and expression, and the internal human transformation is the most mysterious experience in attending a theatre event. We are fascinated by a body-centred minimalist aesthetics. We create each work with a specific artistic proposition and search for related artistic practice and humanistic issues. Out of our 16 productions, Titus Andronicus, Titus Andronicus 2.0 and The Tragedy of Macbeth have toured the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Poland, Norway, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, Mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore, with overwhelming responses. It has been repeatedly awarded in the Hong Kong Drama Awards. As a recognition of its contribution to contemporary arts and culture, Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio is named an Eminent Arts Group by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2019.
Tang Shu-wing
Tang Shu-wing studied law in Hong Kong in early years; then he studied Theatre Studies in the Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. He was strongly influenced by physical theatre, dance as well as visual arts and used to go to India to experience spiritual formation. His works contain both tradition and contemporary features because of his multi-cultural background. He is dubbed “one of the most talented theatre directors of Hong Kong” by the media. Tang found No Man’s Land in 1997 which aimed to explore different theatre expression. He directed Three Women in Pearl River Delta (1997), Millennium Autopsy (1999), The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other (2000) and Deathwatch (2002).
Between 2004 and 2011, Tang Shu-wing worked in the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) and got promoted from lecturer to Dean of the School of Drama within 5 years. Meanwhile, he directed Phaedra (2005), Hamlet (2006) and Princess Chang Ping (2007) and trained lots of new performers for the institution. In 2011, Tang found Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio which aims to create diverse works. Detention (2011), a non-verbal drama, staged 127 sessions in total and reached 25000 audiences. His work Thunderstorm (2012) was dubbed “the perfect combination of dance and drama”. He presented Titus Andronicus (2012) and Macbeth (2015) (renamed into The Tragedy of Macbeth in 2019) and became the first Hong Kong director who presented Shakespeare’s plays in Cantonese in the Shakespeare’s Globe. Macbeth toured 6 European cities in 2017 and was presented in The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival, Festival Hong Kong 2019 – A Cultural Extravaganza@Shanghai as well as “Hong Kong Week” in Taipei. Titus Andronicus 2.0 (2009), a well embodiment of physical theatre and minimalist aesthetics, has continued touring.
Tang also directed opera. His works include King Arthur (2009), Les contes d’Hoffmann (2018) in HKAPA and Datong (2015) in Hong Kong Arts Festival which was showed at the 20th Anniversary of HK’s Return to Motherland ceremony in London. His publication Analysis and Reflections on the Theories of Acting of Meyerhold, Titus Andronicus – Approach in Minimalistic Aesthetics & Physical Theatre and Detention – Out of Curiosity show that he is good at share his experience through writing. He has participated in numerous public platforms, including Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Consultation Panel under the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), Hong Kong Dance Company and Hong Kong-Taiwan Cultural Co-operation Committee.
