'Content-sensitive' drama canceled

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts has canceled its drama performance, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, citing changes in the academy's production plan.

The world-famous play, written by Italian Nobel Prize in Literature winner Dario Fo, was organized by the APA School of Drama's final-year students majoring in directing together with students from other streams.

Frustrated students said it was five months of their hard work and effort that had gone down the drain.

The APA announced on its website on Monday that the drama, which was scheduled to be staged between February 21 and March 2, will be canceled due to "changes in production." The academy apologized for any inconvenience, saying refund arrangements would be announced later on the ticketing platform Cityline and through its website.

A production team member said on social media that the news of a potential cancellation of the performance had been spreading across the institution for quite awhile, but when it finally happened, he "only felt numb at the moment of the greatest shock."

"The efforts and hard work of the past five months have gone down the drain because of a single decision. There was no anger, no sadness, no resentment, no emotions, no thoughts."

He wondered what the team had done wrong but said he knew the "answer is obvious," without elaborating.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said yesterday that he heard of the incident on Monday but was too busy to dig into details.

However, the decision was reached after discussions between the academy and teachers, he said.

Yeung added that the bureau supports schools in carrying out educational work and that it "respects what they [schools] think is appropriate and what they think is not appropriate." He plans to follow up on the incident and address the concerns.

The play satirizes real-life politics and tells the story of a suspected bomb maniac and terrorist falling to his death from a Milan police detective's office in 1970, which aroused public attention and protests.

Since its first performance in 1970, the world-famous play has been performed in over 40 countries and regions. A number of mainland troupes have also adapted it and performed it, with the most recent performance in Shenzhen last year.

Hong Kong drama troupes have also adapted and staged the play several times, most recently in 2020 by Cinematic Theater.

The Education Bureau has also introduced Fo in its stage play education materials for secondary schools, with Accidental Death of an Anarchist as a suggested reading.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com