‘Yellow Objects’ show keeps Hong Kong protest themes alive with subversive humour and Canadian public funding
- Most artists taking part in the production do so anonymously or using pseudonyms, fearing Hong Kong’s National Security Law
- Playwright Derek Chan says the show, allocated about C$80,000 (US$65,000) in taxpayer funds, is a way to tell ‘truth through irreverence’
The streets of Hong Kong are quieter now but the themes of the city’s protest movement are being portrayed in a publicly funded Canadian play that takes its name from one of the most controversial moments of the unrest.
Yellow Objects, a multimedia production that has received about C$80,000 (US$64,000) in Canadian taxpayer funding, is an effort to “keep our stories alive in spite of the oppressive National Security Law”, said Hong Kong-born playwright Derek Chan, referring to the 2020 legislation against secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference – which critics fear is intended to suppress dissent and erode freedom.
The production is threaded with humour, but of the kind that creators fear might put them at risk – for instance, an online component of Yellow Objects includes a depiction of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Yuet-ngor in a passionate open-mouthed kiss.
“Perhaps truth through subversive irreverence is the only way we will be allowed to tell our story from now on,” Chan says in notes for the play.
Yellow Objects was originally envisaged as a fully scripted stage show with live actors. But Covid-19 transformed it into an interactive online experience, plus an installation and exhibition at Vancouver’s Firehall Arts Centre.