一條褲製作近年銳意發展紀錄劇場，2017年更舉行香港首個紀錄劇場節，引起業界熱切關注。英國劇場大師Nicolas Kent更給予我們極大鼓勵︰「You would have done a great service for democracy worldwide」。既然播下種子，劇團希望能夠在這基礎上發展，繼續孕育本地紀錄劇場。承蒙藝能發展資助計劃，「戲劇在社會：第二屆紀錄劇場節」將於今年展開，連串活動將於今年7月至12月進行，包括「紀錄劇場月」、「回溯重構︰1967」放映會「新進紀錄劇場展演」及最新本土紀錄劇場作品－《香港藝術的前世今生》。

一條褲製作兼紀錄劇場節藝術總監胡海輝表示：「今年的主題是『立足本土，連結世界』，繼續以本土不同議題或社群為研究對象，創作此時此地的紀錄劇場。我們亦藉考察、海外大師工作坊、讀劇等連結世界。紀錄劇場不但為本留下珍貴的紀錄，更可以作為一扇窗戶，讓世界一窺本土，也可以讓本土聯繫世界。」

 

胡海輝與紀錄劇場節戲劇文學指導鄭廸琪於今年五月到美加考察，並與Carol Martin、Annabel Soutar 及Johnny Saldana進行訪談，訪談影片加以整理後將會透過紀錄劇場節的網頁展示。而於7月下旬於香港理工大學舉行約一個月的「紀錄劇場月」，包括大師班、公開講座及劇本選讀。今年劇團邀請到Greg Pierotti (美國)、Alecky Blythe(英國)、Annabel Soutar(加拿大)及Paul Brown(澳洲) 來港舉辦大師班、公開講座，分享他們的創作理念及方法。至於讀劇方面，將會邀請專業演員為觀眾演讀加拿大、德國及澳洲的劇本，務求令大眾可以透過不同形式去了解紀錄劇場。紀錄劇場月的節目現已接受報名，名額有限，先到先得。（紀錄劇場月詳情請參閱附件一至二）

紀錄劇場月期間，亦會以錄像呈現劇團過往的作品《回溯重構︰1967》。作品以五月風暴出發，透過訪問重塑事件，從不同角度重新檢視這段空白歷史，拼貼成一幅以小見大的舞台卷軸。紀錄劇場《1967》於2014年首演大獲好評，2017年重新修訂，載譽重演，同樣叫好叫座，難得以錄像留下舞台光影，當年向隅者，或想認識香港這段重要歷史的觀眾萬勿錯過。

 

此外，紀錄劇場節亦為香港觀眾帶來精彩戲碼，分別為八月舉行的「新進紀錄劇場展演」及十二月呈獻最新創作《香港藝術的前世今生》。兩個新進劇團分別以殯儀及未成年懷孕的議題，進行了為期一年的資料搜集、訪問、討論、篩選、重整，繼而創作的本地紀錄劇場作品，門票現已公開發售，為鼓勵更多香港觀眾走進劇場，更特設「紀錄劇場」系列套票優惠，詳情請參閱網頁內容。

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Pants Theatre Production devotes itself into developing documentary theatre in Hong Kong, responding to the society through theatre. In 2017, we presented the 1stDocumentary Theatre Festivalsupported by the Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme, that has aroused great interest and attention to the documentary theatre. Nicolas Kent, the master of British theatre, gave a high expectation of the Festival, “You would have done a great service for democracy worldwide.” Building on the success of the 1stFestival, we are determined to inherit the spirit with the “Theatre in Society: 2ndDocumentary Theatre Festival”, a several components being held, which includes Documentary Theatre Month, Documentary Theatre 1967 (Re-run)Screening, Documentary Theatre Showcases and latest original documentary theatre – What about Art?in July 2019 to December 2019.

 “‘Connecting the world while taking root in Hong Kong’ is the motto of the 2ndDocumentary Theatre Festival. We will continue to create more original documentary theatre works by studying local issues or communities; we will also continue to connect the world by taking on study tours, inviting overseas masters to hold workshops in Hong Kong and having staged reading of foreign documentary theatre works. Documentary theatre is a window for the world to have a sneak peek of Hong Kong and vice versa for Hong Kong to be connected with the world.”said Mr.Hoi-fai Wu,The Artistic Director of Pants Theatre Production and Documentary Theatre Festival. 

Study Trip to the United States And Canada
The artistic director Mr. Wu and the dramaturg Ms. Callas Cheang visited the United States and Canada in May, conducting in-depth study trip on seeing recent productions and interviews with Carol Martin, Annabel Soutar and Johnny Saldana. Their discussion will be filmed, together with the show reviews plus the most updated information about the artists and theatre groups, and shared on our Festival official website.

Documentary Theatre Month
Pants Theatre Production will host one-month Documentary Theatre Month in late July at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It consists of play-reading, public talks and master classes. The four pioneers in the field of documentary theatre, including Greg Pierotti (USA), Alecky Blythe (UK), Annabel Soutar (Canada) and Paul Brown (Australia), are invited for public talks and master classes to share their skills and knowledge with the local practitioners. Professional actors will perform the play-reading of the masterpieces in Canada, Germany and Australia sessions. Through various styles of documentary theatre works and activities, the audience will better familiar with this genre. All programmes are open for application. As seats are limited, they are available on a first-come-first-served basis. (Please refer to attachments for more details). 
 

Documentary Theatre 1967  (Re-run) Screening

The recording version of our previous work 1967 (Re-run) is putting on the screen as the appetizer for the Festival. It was comprised of interviews, news clippings and other documents to investigate the “1967 Riots” which neglected in school curriculums. The first run of 1967and the rerun in 2017 were both highly acclaimed by critics and audience. For those history lovers, this chance is unmissable. 

 

Documentary TheatreShowcases
As one of the significant programmes in the Festival, Documentary Theatre Showcase presents two new theatre groups/ artists this year. They cooperated with their dramaturgs, focus on the issues of funeral planner and underage crisis pregnancy respectively. Over one year conducting interviews, researches and discussion, they created their own documentary theatre belongs to this era.Ticket is now available for public sale. We specially offer “Documentary Theatre Series Discount” to encourage more audience enjoying the theatre. Further details please find our official website page and leaflets.

What about Art?

Since the 70s Hong Kong have evolved from a cultural desert into one of the cities which has the biggest expenditure in art and culture. Do we need art? What kind of art do we need? We endeavor to start a new documentary theatre work, based on the intricating course of development of the West Kowloon Cultural Development. It is hoped to get an answer to the question, “What is the point of doing art in Hong Kong?”