An introduction to the HKRep’s 2026-27 Season

Re．verse

Some 943 years ago, Su Shi begot a “product” of a son. At the time, he wouldn’t have used such language to describe his offspring. Such verbiage belongs to us today. In fact, it’s a bit frivolous. But this term does have a very practical meaning. He wrote, “Most men, bringing up their sons, wish for them to be clever; but my intelligence has brought me a lifetime of failure. I only wish my son to be simple and dull; that no ill fortune and trouble hinder his path to high office.” I believe he was actually alluding to (as we call it in modern parlance) “lying flat”.
 
Su Shi’s sentiment might well resonate with us today. You only live once. Much has changed in the past 943 years, but who among us wishes to “lie flat”? I don’t know, but as a theatremaker, if “no ill fortune and trouble hinder his path to high office”, the theatre will crumble into boredom. Our motto this season, with similar terseness as last year’s, uses just one single word: Reverse.
 
After Life. Confucius said, “Not knowing life, how can you understand death?” If a person is already “dead”, what does it mean to “live”? Since Asian philosophies of life and death have fused into long-forgotten secrets whispered between “Heaven” and the “next stop”, perhaps we can try a “reversal”?
 
The Diary of Song 2026. My surname is Wu, my given name Song. I once tended sheep in Xinjiang, picked tea leaves in Fujian, wove cloth in Hangzhou, sold knick-knacks in Guangzhou, worked in transportation in Heilongjiang. I killed a tiger. I wrote a diary. Unemployed, I lie flat. I vow to reverse my course!
 
Modern Wuxia: To Turn, To Be. When “post-modern” has long exceeded its sell-by date, is “modern” still valid? I believe so. I’ve heard that in our concrete jungle, where lives sink or swim, when all hopes are dashed, the gentle warrior spirit remains and the world of martial arts goes into reverse mode!
 
Operation Oops! - the Musical. As real estate prices continue to skyrocket, how can the impoverished possibly become homeowners? According to folk etymology, two wolverines—one with long legs, the other with short ones—can only move in tandem, always co-dependent. At this time, in this place, they must fully coordinate in their actions. Only by sticking together can they reverse their fate!
 
An Unofficial True Story of Ah Q. Who’s Ah Q? Who isn’t Ah Q? He’s been with us for more than a century, and his strategy of indefatigable spiritual triumph has seeped into our bones. Yes, Ah Q can only be Ah Q, destined to “lose” unless he can “reverse” the tides!
 
Betrayal. A love, marriage or friendship that has been broken cannot be repaired. There’s nothing more to salvage. What is shocking is when the one who betrays discovers he is actually “being betrayed”. Harold Pinter’s drama is a tour de force on how things reverse!
 
On plans and projects such as our Black Box, Text Testing Zone, Project Kite and Education Hub, as well as Mainland tours, they all move along accordingly—or shall we say, they continue to extend and expand to our surprise and delight. Liu Xie has an essay about creativity entitled “Magical meditations” in his book The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. Here is a modern paraphrase I found online: “While pondering about writing an essay, imagination can fly to faraway places. Thus, with concentration, thoughts can traverse and connect across millennia; without knowing, facial expressions transform and eyes can see landscapes ten thousand miles away…” I suspect Liu Xie knew something about what it means to “reverse”.
 
Poon Wai Sum
Artistic Director