Invited by the No Discipline Limited, I co-conceptualised the first day of the Something Else forum and invited artists Amy Chan and Chan Kwun Fee to join my panel “The (Im)possible Performances in the Theatre?”.
以外 something else forum
劇場裏（不）可能的展演？
The (Im)possible Performances in the Theatre?
10:30-12:30, 27/6/2026, The Room, Freespace, WestK, Hong Kong
Panelists: wen yau, Chan Kwun Fee, Amy Chan
劇場不只是一個物理空間，更是一個盛載各種傳統與定義的場域，是定義是限制是覆權是可能是參考或是其他？有人選擇逃離框架遠走他方，也有人會遊牧在不同荒野扶乩耕墾，也有人到迷惑中繼續孕育更多的跨界衝擊⋯⋯就讓我們從三個游離者的經驗，探索怎樣在「劇場性」(theatricality) 與「展演性」(performativity) 之間安身立命，如何一路走來開發獨特的風景？
The theatre is more than a physical space; it is a site laden with traditions and definitions. How do these boundaries shape our work as definitions, constraints, or possibilities? Faced with these structures, some artists break free from the frame, others nomadically cultivate untamed interdisciplinary spaces, and some embrace the ambiguity to spark fresh friction. Drawing from the journeys of three displaced artists, this panel explores how the artists navigate the nuances between “theatricality” and “performativity.” How do they carve out an artistic existence here, and what unique landscapes can be uncovered along the way?
西方劇場由古希臘依山而建 amphitheatre 的開揚結構，發展成現在慣常的黑盒，正是把劇場逐漸建構成一個高度集中、隔離現實甚至是自圓其說的規範——經過幾百、幾千年的錘鍊後這些規範或已成了牢不可破的專制，它可以是一套說故事的方法，也可以是一套處事的模式，甚至是理解和建立價值系統的實踐和論述…… 「劇場性」除了藝術的探索，也包含了維持這個系統的法則，持之以恆變得根深蒂固。但當我發現我想做的未必能迎合這系統，再走入了performance studies 的大觀園，拉闊了對「展演性」的想像，正好讓我省思事物如何被文化構成、如何抹殺了更多的可能，也更堅定了我愈是面對習以為常甚至是理所當然的洪流，愈要學習如何持守異己另闢蹊徑，連結扶持被洪流沖走的人。
Western theatre evolved from the ancient Greek open-air amphitheatres built into hillsides to the black box we see today. This evolution has culturally constructed the theatre into a highly concentrated, isolated space that shuts out reality to create a self-contained, normative bubble. Refined over hundreds and thousands of years, these norms have solidified into an unbreakable, authoritative hegemony. It can dictate how a story is told, how affairs are managed, or even how value systems are understood and established through discourse and practice. “Theatricality” encompasses not just artistic exploration, but also the ethos required to maintain this very system, becoming deeply entrenched over time. However, when I realized what I wanted to do might not cater to this system, entering the vast world of Performance Studies broadened my horizons regarding performativity. It prompted me to reflect on how things are culturally constructed and how that process smothers other possibilities. It reinforced my resolve: the more we face a mainstream torrent of what is deemed customary or taken for granted, the more we must learn to hold onto our differences, forge alternative paths, and attend to those pushed away by the current.
(from left to right: Amy Chan, Light and theatre artist, and independent artistic researcher;
Chan Kwun Fee, trans-disciplinary artist and artistic director of Littlebreath Creative Workshop)
[all photos by Thomson Ho]
This panel is part of the 2-day forum Something Else curated ＆ produced by No Discipline Limited.