Zooming in on virtual theater

Global stage

According to Felix Chan, an independent producer who spoke at a web conference hosted by the International Association of Theater Critics (Hong Kong), when Hong Kong theater companies began putting content online, soon after the onset of the pandemic, it was mostly free of charge — partly because most producers did not expect the pandemic to last as long as it has, and also to attract new audiences, many of whom were only starting to warm up to the idea of virtual plays.

"It's been difficult putting a price on Zoom play tickets, because not everyone trusts the format yet and they are not ready to invest in it," says Pakhomova, whose company went for the pay-as-you-wish model, "although the time and effort we put in is the same as we would in any normal live performance."

"Some producers cannot pay the actors the fees they are duly owed as a result," she adds.

On the flip side, the investment is considerably less in online productions, as there is minimal expenditure on venue rentals and hiring technicians for handling sound, lights and moving the sets. Also virtual theater opens up the scope to play to an international audience and involve a global cast and creatives. Recent examples include Secret Theater's Redemption Room, in which a multicultural cast joined from London, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Mumbai. Similarly, HKAF's The Plague (English), directed by Wang Chong, features performers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, Lebanon, South Africa, and China.