Edward Lam: 14 Variations on the Theme of Yi Yi (Excerpt) Edward Lam: 14 Variations on the Theme of Yi Yi (Excerpt) Edward Lam: 14 Variations on the Theme of Yi Yi (Excerpt)

The invention of cinema was a celebration of light, shadow, and speed. Over the past 130 years, it has carried people across places impossible to traverse within a finite lifetime. Among those landscapes is vision itself.

The beginning of a life occurs when a pair of eyes opens. Yet seeing alone is never enough. Sound also enters life, shaping the meaning of what is seen. Images emerge gradually from blur into clarity, bringing with them questions: “What is this?” “Where is this?” and then, “Why?”

Edward Yang’s final film Yi Yi takes “beginning” as its central theme. In the film, eight-year-old Yang-Yang becomes aware for the first time of what it means to see and not to see.

Between 2021 and 2023, the pandemic placed much of the world in a condition of not seeing. “What is this?”, “Where is this?”, and “Why?” became questions repeatedly asked. Humanity seemed to be given an opportunity to return to the starting point of life itself.

Three years later, if humanity once became childlike again, what have we since come to see?

In 2026, when cinema is no longer a journey into the unknown, how can we know whether the future we think we see is, in fact, another unseen future?

With the authorisation of Chief Creative Consultant Kaili Peng, director Edward Lam revisits his 2021 work A One and a Two. Together with performers WANG Hung-yuan and HUANG Ren-jie, and visual artists HO Ting Wai and Darwin NG, he will create a new version exclusively for the Meeting of Gods Festival.

One performance only.

We invite you to experience seven performances—seven distinct intercultural experiments.

Some sing, some dance, some remain silent, and some engage in debate. From theatre back to the present moment, from exchange and performance to dialogue.

Performance 1 | Danny Yung’s  Book of Ghosts 2026

July 4 (Sat) 4:00 PM

Performance 2 | Danny Yung’s Meeting of Gods 2026

July 5 (Sun) 4:00 PM

Performance 3 | Susie Au × Xie Shu “Off the Boundary”
July 6 (Mon) 8:00 PM

Performance 4 | Steve Hui  “Trial: Noise”
July 7 (Tue) 8:00 PM

Performance 5 | Edward Lam “14 Variations on the Theme of Yi Yi (Excerpt)”
July 8 (Wed) 8:00 PM

Performance 6 | Olivier Cong “The Border”
July 9 (Thu) 8:00 PM

Performance 7 | Liu Xiaoyi “School of Thoughts 2026”
July 11 (Sat) 8:00 PM

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There will be no intermission for this programme.

Children under the age of 6 will not be admitted.

Latecomers will only be admitted at a suitable break in the performance.

Zuni Icosahedron reserves the right to make final decisions regarding changes to the programme content, performers, and seating arrangements.