Nostalgia rules
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a surge of popular interest in Hong Kong heritage by default. But can the momentum be sustained and the reinvention of tradition taken to the next level? Joyce Yip weighs the pros and cons.
On an afternoon in July, actor Chage Fung put on a gray cheongsam, round spectacles and black Chinese slippers. He was playing the role of a disciple to the Chinese literary giant Lu Xun (1881-1936). The performance took place at the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong's Bridges Street Centre in Sheung Wan. Speaking in a lingo that was a throwback to the 1920s, Fung waxed eloquent on the pioneering architectural features of the building where Lu had famously lectured in February 1927.
The show was part of the Radix Troupe-produced Historic Site, His Stories' Cite touring performance series - a theater project sponsored by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government's Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The program aims to rekindle popular interest in the city's historically significant landmarks.
