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Secret Theatre in Hong Kong – ‘Silence of the Lambs meets Black Mirror’ where you have the power

  • The line between audience members and the actors will become increasingly blurred as the evening progresses
  • The interactive show runs from September 17 to November 10 at Tai Kwun

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Secret Theatre is billed as being “Silence of the Lambs meets Black Mirror”.
Kate Whitehead
The rain is coming down hard in the courtyard of Hong Kong’s historic police station turned arts hub Tai Kwun, but Richard Crawford, the founder and artistic director of Secret Theatre, isn’t about to let the weather dampen his mood.

“This is a summer’s day in Scotland,” says Crawford, wearing a brightly-coloured shirt and his trademark fedora.

Crawford left his native Scotland 20 years ago and since then the 38-year-old has divided his time between London and New York and, during the past four years, spent a considerable amount of time in Hong Kong.

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He put on his first “immersive theatre” show – a style of theatre in which the audience is encouraged to wander around and interact with the cast – in 2015 and his latest production, which runs from September 17 to November 10 at Tai Kwun, will be his fourth in Hong Kong.

Richard Crawford, founder of Secret Theatre. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Richard Crawford, founder of Secret Theatre. Photo: Jonathan Wong
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Along the way he’s not only built up a steady following, he’s also made the shows a lot more local. “A lot of actors came to the shows and hung around at the end. They said, ‘I’m an actor, I’d love to be involved in this’. That was great to hear,” Crawford says.

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