Wong Kwok-chung, founder of Mime Touch Theatre and the brains behind the Hong Kong Mime Festival 2009, and performance artist Andrew So talk about the festival and the revival of a contemporary mime scene in our city.

Why did you put together the festival now, especially in light of the economy’s current bad shape?
Wong: I have had this idea for a long time. I have been to mime festivals in other countries like Korea – it was great, whole cities were devoted to it during the festival period. There were parades, workshops, street performances… We don’t have many resources – we got $80,000 from the government but it actually takes $500,000 to do what we want to do. We expect a loss but we have to do it anyway – if there is not a first time, there will never be a second time.

What’s to see in the festival?
Wong: We invited over 30 mime artists and it ended up that 14 could perform in the festival. Each will have a 15-minute solo session and I think, as each will have their own style, audiences will be able to see an overview of mime culture in Hong Kong right now – that’s why we titled it Contemporary Hong Kong. The [artists] usually practise at home and we will only know exactly what they do on the day of the performance – it is kind of exciting for me too.

You two have expertise in other performance arts but always come back to mime. What is it about mime that is so attractive to you?
So: Talking is not my strength – I didn’t learn drama because there are too many lines to remember. When I am performing on the street, I always include a segment of mime. We have been quiet for a while – Hong Kong people almost think we have disappeared. But we believe the trend to mime has come back – not only in HK but around the world.

Wong: Mime to me means imitating life. It has always been a contemporary art form [that can be used] to talk about current issues. In different periods of time and in different countries, styles of mime can be very different. For example, in Japan it is more light-hearted, in India it is more bitter and in HK it is more sagacious.

So: Mime has its own language to communicate with audiences and is very challenging for the artist. Audiences still like those old tricks like touching the wall and pulling strings in a mime show – it is like playing magic with your own body, and it is mysterious and very visual.

So mime performance isn’t just something out of a family carnival for children?
Wong: In Hong Kong people think mime or puppet shows are for kids and performance is for the family but that’s not true – in fact mime and puppetry are often used to talk about adult issues, sex and politics. But in Hong Kong the government worries if it cannot sell tickets and foreign mime troupes it invites to HK are all for family entertainment. In mime, you observe and learn about what’s happening in society and through imitating you understand life better. It can show a performer’s view towards the world – it is very contemporary and can travel everywhere.

You set up your own mime troupe in 1988 and it has been more than 20 years in the scene. Have you noticed any evolution in mime theatre in HK?
Wong: I’d say we have entered the post-modern era of mime – there are so many possibilities to explore. Like infusing mime with music, multi-media etc – Heiquan Theatre is an example. It is like a revival of mime. In the last few years a few of the great mime artists passed away – like Marcel Marceau – and his students have formed a mime alliance in Paris. And for the first time Madame Fay Lecoq, wife of the late Jacques Lecoq, will visit Hong Kong together with Sun Li Tsuei [a Taiwanese artist, student of Lecoq and founder of Shang Orientheatre]. They will conduct a workshop, bringing over valuable films and masks of Lecoq.

The 14 mime artists will present two shows during the festival: From October 2-4, the artists-in-residence will be Carrie Chan, Samuel Chan, Lee Chi Man, Indy Lee, Larry Ng, Amy Tong and KC Wong; and from October 9-11, Edwin Chan, Edward Chan, Hoi Chiu, Joe Ma, Lam Ching, Andrew So and Bob Wong. Performances commence at 8pm at the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre Black Box Theatre – tickets are $150 from URBTIX, 2734 9909.

To learn more of mime and participate, sign up for A Talk and Workshop about Jacques Lecoq by Madame Fay Lecoq and Sun Li Tsuei on October 11 from 10am to 1pm. Tickets are $300 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.