West Kowloon Cultural District Announces Hong Kong International Black Box Festival

Under the theme "Becoming Real", the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre will co-present the first Hong Kong International Black Box Festival this Autumn. Featuring four unconventional theatre productions from around the world, the festival will allow audiences to explore the different possibilities of contemporary theatre and bring new thoughts that challenge the boundaries by directors from China, Italy, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Hong Kong.

The four unique productions from around the world - One Fine Day (Beijing), MDLSX (Italy) (by the Premio Ubu-winner Silvia Calderoni, first time in HK), Oedipus Schmoedipus (Australia/Hong Kong) and Five Easy Pieces (Switzerland/Germany/Belgium) - guarantee to offer audiences an exciting glimpse of the diverse possibilities of contemporary theatre. This edition is an invitation for the audience to spend a moment of disruption with us as a response to the world we live in today, as we can all relate that our world today is one of war and hatred, ruled by fear and misinformation. A scenario that ironically conditions us to absolve our agency by simply clicking a like, a share on Facebook or Twitter. Under the theme "Becoming Real", the four-week festival showcases bold and unconventional forms of theatre that blur the lines between representations of fiction and reality, and offer new perspectives that challenge our limits and understanding of the everyday. Each production also invites the audience to become aware of our own individual agency, engaging us as spectators, witnesses, consumers - and in some cases as non-professional performers - and allowing us to experience theatre in entirely new and energising ways.

West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is one of the world's largest cultural developments currently underway. Blending art, education and open space with hotel, office and residential developments, the WKCDA will establish a vibrant new cultural quarter stretching across 40 hectares of reclaimed land on a harbour-front site in the heart of Hong Kong. As construction of the major venues moves closer to completion, the Authority has already started playing an active role in developing Hong Kong's arts and cultural industries, nurturing local talents and growing audiences to further strengthen Hong Kong's position as a burgeoning hub for art and culture, performing and visual arts, creativity, education, awareness and appreciation. WKCD will provide 23 hectares of quality open public space that will be animated by a series of world-class cultural venues and facilities. Two facilities are now open to the public on site at the District, the M+ Pavilion and part of the first phase of the Art Park, and a further four venues are currently under construction: the Xiqu Centre, Freespace, M+ and the Lyric Theatre Complex. Xiqu Centre will open at the end of 2018, and with a grand opening season showcasing the best talent from the region starting in January 2019.

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