Thank you for watching Danny Yung’s Book of Ghosts 2026! Your feedback matters to us, and we invite you to complete our online survey after the performance.
— Danny Yung 20 June 2026
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture (HKICC) and the 20th anniversary of the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, Zuni Icosahedron and the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture jointly present the newly curated Meeting of Gods Festival & Danny Yung Young Artists Academy 2026, conceived and curated by Danny Yung. The Festival and Academy will take place from 4 to 11 July 2026 at the Studio Theatre and Multimedia Theatre of the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity.
This is a festival that examines the future of festivals through the practice of a festival, and an academy that reflects upon the meaning of an academy through the process of learning itself. Together, they form a platform dedicated to the development of arts practitioners and cultural exchange.
Guided by the idea of “Meeting of Gods”, the Festival revisits and reflects upon the essence of theatre as both a public space and a spiritual arena, bringing together contemporary and traditional performing artists from across Asia. Participating artists come from Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Phnom Penh, Beijing, Taipei, Kaohsiung and Chengdu.
Running concurrently is the second edition of Danny Yung Young Artists Academy 2026, bringing together graduating students from the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Contemporary Chinese Theatres programme at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore, alongside young arts practitioners from Hong Kong.
Programme activities include the 6+1 Exchange Workshops, Comparative Demonstration Lectures, Study the Artists sessions, and five One Table Two Chairs forums. Opening the Festival are Danny Yung’s Book of Ghosts 2026 on 4 July and Meeting of Gods 2026 on 5 July, both presented at 4:00 pm.
The Festival concludes with Thinking Academy 2026, an intercultural and interdisciplinary theatre work created by Liu Xiaoyi from Singapore in collaboration with invited guest artists. The Young Artists Academy centres on the interconnected themes of Culture, Education and Art, explored through twelve related subjects: Market, Policy, Mechanism, Institution, Development, History, Language, Research, Experimentation, Structure, Taboo and Vision. These are the questions and challenges that artists must confront within the broader social and cultural environment throughout the creative process.
An experimental art pioneer, Danny Yung is a founding member cum Co-Artistic Director of Zuni Icosahedron. Yung is widely regarded as most influential artist in Hong Kong and the neighbouring regions, and an advocate in experimental arts and new art forms.
In 2009, Yung was conferred the Merit Cross of the Order of Merit on Ribbon by the Federal Republic of Germany in recognition of his contribution to the arts and cultural exchange between Germany and Hong Kong.
Born in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan
Join in Pappa TARAHUMARA in 1983, in 2006 started solo works, and in 2008, 2010, 2018 being guest professor of the choreography department at Korea National University of the Arts. Matsushima graduated from the Nihon University of College of Art. He launched his stage career with the Japanese dance theatre company Pappa TARAHUMARA while he was still a student, and won critical acclaim both for his performance in television and on stage.
Rady began his dance training in 1999, specializing in the monkey role of Lakhaon Khol, the Cambodian classical male masked dance form. He graduated with a BA in Choreographic Arts from the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh in August 2013. Rady danced with Sovanna Phum Arts Association, an independent dance and shadow puppetry theatre company, from 2006 to 2010 and with Amrita Performing Arts since 2010.
Park Hobin is CcadoO’s artistic director and choreographer. He uses the collage technique or the body as an object, as in total theatre. Regarded as one of the most promising of contemporary artistic directors on the international circuit and acclaimed as Dancer of Our Time at the Dance Biennale Tokyo 2004.
Xiao is a member of the China Theatre Assocation, performer at The Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre, graduate of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. After graduation, he worked at the Kunqu Opera Museum of China and became an actor at The Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre. He has studied both Kun Opera and Peking Opera under famed performers Yue Meiti, Cai Zhengren, Bi Gaoxiu, Shi Xiaomei, and Ma Yusen.
Yang Junfeng, from Chongqing, is one of the emerging performers of contemporary Sichuan opera. He first entered public view as a film and television actor, beginning his performing career in 2007 with the television drama The Fairy Couple (Tian Xian Pei), in which he played Liu Daxia. He later gradually turned towards xiqu and stage performance, entering the professional theatre troupe system.
Steve Hui, Known as Nerve, is a multi-disciplinary artist trained in contemporary classical composition with roots in the rave scene. He hacks into the existing music system by mixing art forms, crossing disciplines and experimenting with traditions. His practice transcends the boundaries between music, sound, theatre and underground culture.
Lam Yip graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and is dedicated to experimentation across sound art, performance, and interdisciplinary practice. Through collaborative performances and experimental projects, he explores relationships between different artistic mediums.
Graduated from the Hong Kong Baptist University, with a bachelor’s degree in Social Science majoring in Psychology. Mok later completed the Radix Troupe, Full-time All-round Dramatic Arts Training (2-year Scheme). Cheung is now a freelance performer.
Graduated from the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (major in Cultural Studies). Wong has been the art administrative coordinator of Cinemtic Theatre.
Recent productions include: assistant producer of Cinemtic Theatre’s the Premiere of the 8th Young Playwright Scheme and executive producer of Beyond the Dream Lens.
A freelance performer graduated from the School of Drama, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, major in acting.
Recent performance: Interrupted Dream, 2 or 3 Thing About the Interrupted Dream, The Interrupted Geng Zi Dream by Zuni Icosahedron; The Blind (Awardee of outstanding actor & The 13th Hong Kong Theatre Libre – best overall performance) and Antigone on the Beach by the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.
“Have you ever seen a ghost?” He only saw
shadows flitting outside the theatre.
“Do you believe in gods?” He refuses to believe that the stage is merely an illusion of the mystical. — Danny Yung, Co-Artistic Director of Zuni Icosahedron
If the theatre was once a sanctuary where humans, ghosts, and gods meet, what remains of it today?
For years, Danny Yung, Co-Artistic Director of Zuni Icosahedron, has persistently questioned: Where does theatre come from?
And what form could an arts festival take in the future?
In ancient times, the “stage” was originally a sacred ground for communication between humans, ghosts, and spirits. Rituals, as a form of collective action, carried humanity’s understanding of the universe and served as a response to the unknown and the perplexing.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture (HKICC) and the 20th anniversary of the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, Zuni Icosahedron and the Hong Kong Contemporary Cultural Centre jointly present the newly curated Meeting of Gods Festival & Danny Yung Young Artists Academy 2026.
Guided by the idea of “Meeting of Gods”, the Festival revisits and reflects upon the essence of theatre as both a public space and a spiritual arena, bringing together contemporary and traditional performing artists from across Asia.
We invite the audience to be present at the theatre together. Across seven performances, post-show talks, and dialogues, let us collectively perceive the theatre as a sacred place of present-moment gathering.
During the festival, from 5 to 8 July 2026, five “One Table Two Chairs” forums will be held at the Studio Theatre of the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity. Hosted by Singaporean intercultural theatre director Liu Xiaoyi and curated by architecture and culture scholar Melody Yiu, the forums bring together artists and participants from diverse fields to explore intercultural issues relating to arts festivals, arts education, cultural institutions, and arts practice.
01 | Arts Festivals -How do experiments in the forms and content of cultural exchange inspire future arts festivals?
02 | Creative Education – How can reforms and innovations in educational institutions cultivate independent and forward-looking values?
03 | Cultural Insitutions – How do cultural institutions recognize and challenge conservative tendencies within their own organizational culture?
04 | Arts in Practice – How do arts practitioners respond to external forces of politics, economics, society, and technology?
05 | Prospective Seminar – Academy and Arts Festival / Reviews and Challenges
Danny Yung Young Artists Academy 2026 is the second edition this year developed from the 3-year collaboration between Nanyang Academy for Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore. 19 students of the BA (Hons) Contemporary Chinese Theatres program come to spend 2 weeks in this program curated by Danny Yung for training and exchanges.
Artistic Director, Chief Curator, Director: Danny Yung
International Exchange Director / Producer: Wong Yue Wai
Co-curator, Director, Course Instructor: Liu Xiaoyi
Music Director, Director, Course Instructor: Steve Hui (aka NERVE)
Artistic Director & Director: Danny Yung
Performing Artists from Japan, Korea and Cambodia:
Makoto Matsushima (Tokyo), Park Hobin (Seoul), Rady Nget (Phnom Penh)
Jingju-Kunqu Performer: Xiao Xiangping (Stockholm)
Young Chuanju Performer: Yang Junfeng (Chongqing)
Performers: Mok Dick Long, Wong Lok Ki, Martin Choy
Music Director: Steve Hui (aka Nerve)
Sound Artist: Lam Yip
Video: Ma Lap Yin
Creative Coordinator: Martin Choy
Artistic Director, Curator, Director: Danny Yung
Co-curator, Director, Course Instructor: Liu Xiaoyi
Cross-cultural Artists, Course Instructors:
Makoto Matsushima, Rady Nget, Park Hobin, Xiao Xiangping, Ren Jiale, Yang Junfeng, Steve Hui (Nerve)
Coordinators: Cindy Cheung, Chloe Li, Jane Cheuk, Martin Choy
Students (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts | University of the Arts Singapore):
Chang Xiya, Chen Jing, Chua Yin Ling, He Xinyan, Huang Jinghan, Karen Lie Kai Ting, Li Kaiyang, Li Yiran, Lin Jing, Liu Yanqi, Ni Ke, Pan Huishan, Shen Yang, Wang Bo, Wang Juner, Wang Sining, Zhou Chenyi, Zhou Qianhui, Ma Xiaoyu
Young Artists (Hong Kong)
Yeung Sin Tung, Li Sixian, Chuk Ka Lok, Hu Jiashu, Mok Pui Yan, Hui Ka Ling, Wong Fai Ying, Vivian Lin, Curtis Si Tou, Grace Tam, Tang Pui Shan, Arwen Cheung, Zhao Zihui, Chloe (Observer)
Zuni Resident Stage Manager: Chan On Ki
Production Manager and Stage Manager: Leo Siu
Deputy Stage Manager: Carvid Ngai
Lighting Design and Operator: Cheng Lai Chiu
Sound Design and Operator: Fong King Lok
Video Operator: Ziv Chun, Yu Pui Ho
Stage Crew: Keung King Hang, Fung Kwan Tai
Light Crew: Lo Wing Yi, Mok Chi Yeung,
Sound Crew: Zeng Jiaxin
Advisor: Poon Tat Pui
Filming and Editing: Leung Minami Hoi Lam, Hung Ka Hei, Yip Chun Ting, Leung Tsz Ki, So Wing Shun, Yuen Ka Nok
Assistant Artistic Director: Cedric Chan
General Manager (Administration and Finance): Jacky Chan
General Manager (Programme): Doris Kan
Senior Manager (Programme): Bowie Chow
Senior Manager (Production and Technical): Gavin Chow
Administration Manager: Colin Cheng
Stage Manager: Chan On Ki
Marketing and Outreach Manager: Niki Luk
PR & Publicity: Luka Wong
Ticketing & Digital Marketing: HO Yin Hei
Programme Assistant: Yumi Hui
Graphic Design & Video (Promotion): Ricky Cheng
Graphic Design (Display Board): Coco Cheung
Video (Promotion): Vanilla Guo
Photographer (Documentation): Tree Lo
Yun Yuan