Play inspired by social distancing one of two youth theatre performances making a triumphant return to the stage in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation’s ‘#Hashtag’ saw rehearsals involving 25 teenagers take place over Zoom

Three Queens, from the Absolutely Fabulous Theatre Connection, is an adaptation of Shakespearean plays focusing on three women rulers

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Hong Kong students take part in an acting workshop launched by The Absolutely Fabulous Theatre Connection. The youth group is one of two making a return to the stage this and next month. Photo: Courtesy of the Absolutely Fabulous Theatre Connection

Published: 3:25pm, 17 Nov 2020Updated: 6:16pm, 18 Nov 2020

Two Hong Kong youth theatre groups are about to make a triumphant return to the stage – a move which comes months after Covid-19 halted rehearsals and live performances in the city.

The Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (HKYAF) and the Absolutely Fabulous Theatre Connection (Aftec) will be performing #Hashtag, an original play inspired by social distancing, and Three Queens, an adaptation of Shakespearean plays, respectively. Both groups are dedicated to making English-language theatre accessible to local students.

Three Queens is the work of Rodney Cottier, the head of the drama school at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (Lamda). It is part of Aftec’s “Bravo!” programme, which is a bilingual theatre training course targeted at students aged 13 to 18. The programme, which runs for a year and a half, usually includes workshops at Lamda in Britain during the summer.

Travel restrictions because of the pandemic has put paid to that part of the programme this year, but Cottier’s presence in Hong Kong has brought some solace to those missing out on a London experience.

A young actor during rehearsals for Three Queens, with guest director Rodney Cottier in the background. Photo: Courtesy of the Absolutely Fabulous Theatre Connection

Cottier, who arrived in Hong Kong in October, has been leading rehearsals for a cast of 15 who were selected after an audition on Zoom. The play focuses on the three women who ruled England during a series of English civil wars called the Wars of the Roses (1455-87): Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville and Anne Neville. Their stories are adapted from English playwright William Shakespeare’s Henry VI series and Richard III.