Danny Yung speaks of ‘All About Space’ Danny Yung speaks of ‘All About Space’ Danny Yung speaks of ‘All About Space’

Every space has its own structure, and every theatre has its own as well. Every design, every bar and every curtain has its own reason to be there. If we could use them after understanding their history, then we could make better use of them in a smooth manner.  I created a work called Stage Sisters a few years ago. It was performed in the Grand Theatre of Hong Kong Cultural Centre. I was trying to understand the structure and space composition of the Grand Theatre of Hong Kong Cultural Centre, and then I tried to subvert the concept of that theatre. I asked the audience to sit at the very back of the stage, facing the auditorium, and so the auditorium was turned into the backdrop for the stage. Of course, what I had in mind at that time was to let the audience see the space that performers usually see — the space performers usually see is the auditorium. Now, I’m letting the audience sit behind the performers, looking at the space facing the performers.

When I subvert this space, I am actually asking questions. There are a lot of stories behind this space. When we understand this space, then we use different means to have a dialogue with it. In this dialogue, I’m not only trying to say what I want to say, I’m also trying to say what this space wants to say.

Many works of traditional performing arts are staged in a square or a plaza. Those squares or plazas are usually a space in front of some temple. That’s why a square is a public space, a place where we could all participate in performing arts. Basically, there are no boundaries for the performances in a square. As of today, the square has developed into a theatre in a building, and there are distinct boundaries for onstage and offstage.

In a public square, the audience would be the common people, or the audience would be the deities of a temple if the performance is held there. If a performance is given in a palace, the most important spectator would be the emperor, and the purpose of that performance is to start a dialogue with the emperor. If that emperor is open-minded, then the dialogue would be developmental and critical; but if the emperor is conservative, the performance would become ritualised, decorative, and formalised. Then, all would become some sort of glorification, maybe it’d be dancing or singing; everything would become just a ritual.

But I think rituals are important as well because there would be a lot of rituals in a square. There are all sorts of rituals among folks, such as, marriages, coming of age ceremonies and funerals. All these are rituals. Those rituals are some sort of theatre, so that we can all participate in a systematic manner. Theatre itself is an occasion for participation.

What is behind space design are architects. In that case, what kind of interactions and exchange are made between architects and artists in exploring future theatre are very important. In Japan, a lot of directors and many famous architects are engaged in dialogue constantly in examining the relationship between space and creation, and the relationship between space and the stage. Unfortunately, we still do not have that kind of dialogue in Hong Kong yet. I hope that in the future architects can be directors and directors can be architects, and then they could understand each other more, and so could work together to deal with future spaces regarding communication, theatre, arts and creation.

An experimental art pioneer and most influential artist and cultural leader from Hong Kong. Over the past 40 years, Yung has been actively involved in multifarious fields of the arts, including theatre, cartoon, film, video, visual and installation art projects that have toured over 30 cities.

Zuni Experimental Theatre Arts Archive: Danny Yung