Shakespeare Performance in Hong Kong: The Chinese Universities Shakespeare Festival

Abstract

In May 2009, The Chinese Universities Shakespeare Festival will celebrate its fifth year. The event involves twelve teams of student actors from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (culled from an initial entry group of over thirty teams) performing short (15 minute) Shakespeare scenes before a Hong Kong audience including three renowned international judges. The winning team, along with their director, is awarded an all-expense paid trip to the UK, and there are other prizes as well. I have been involved in the Shakespeare Festival since its inception, and this talk will provide an introduction to the event, one that might be modulated to become a performance festival in other Asian locations. The talk will also cover such topics as the range of performance styles used in Shakespeare Festival performances, the qualities looked for (in terms of acting and staging) by the Festival judges, and the challenges involved in presenting exciting Shakespeare performances given the very brief (15 minute) time limit and the requirement that each team consist of only three actors. In addition to discussing the Shakespeare Festival itself, this conference presentation will also attempt to situate the event in the context of other contemporary Shakespeare performance competitions and celebrations in Asia today.