Songs of Innocence and Experience (WestK)
Boys and Girls, become a legend!West Kowloon, Freespace, The Box
1 hour 45 minutes
Thought-provoking stories of identity and self-expression from youngsters coming of age in contemporary times.
Devised and created by Rooftop Productions and the young artists of HKAPA’s School of Drama, Songs of Innocence and Experience is a vibrant, multidisciplinary work around the stories of a group of young people negotiating their path to adulthood in contemporary Hong Kong.
Through a fragmented montage of theatre, live original music, high culture and pop culture references, camera play and projections from Blake’s illustrated versions of Paradise Lost, the production offers a lively, humorous and poignant reflection on the drive and passions of youth.
Songs of Innocence and Experience takes its name from the work of William Blake, and inspiration from John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Areopagitica. Contemplating the eternal struggles of youth – between respecting authority and wanting freedom, and forging meaningful new pathways as emerging adults – the production plays with the angel-devil duality of Milton’s work, and the hybridity of contemporary Hong Kong society, to explore individual and universal journeys to self-identity.
First staged at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2022, the production has been developed and adapted for The Box. The new production features a revised script, original and new ensemble and band members, and enhanced scenography and projection design.
More information
Dates & Tickets
Dates
Duration
1 hour 45 minutes
Ticket Prices
HK$280–380
Audience Information
Each performance includes a post-performance talk.
Ticket Reminders
Cityline charges a per-ticket service fee of $12 (online booking) or $15 (phone booking).
(All prices are listed in Hong Kong dollars.)
Ticket Availability
Tickets available from 27 December 2023 (Wednesday) at 10:00am on online ticketing system Cityline and via telephone booking hotline at (852) 2111 5333 (10:00am to 7:00pm daily).
Venue
West Kowloon, Freespace, The Box
West Kowloon, Cultural District, No. 18 Museum Dr, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Getting there
5 minutes from Kowloon Station, Exit E3.
Creative and Production Team
Directors | |
Co-producers | |
Music Director | |
Composers | |
Lyricists | |
Choreographer | |
Collaborating Actors | |
Lighting Designer | |
Sound Designer | |
Set and Costume Designer | |
Choral Practice Leaders | |
Technical Integration Design | |
Band Leader | |
Band Members | |
Creative Coordinators | |
Project Coordinators | |
Promotion Image Illustrator |
- *Staff of West Kowloon Cultural District
- ‡With support and kind permission of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
- §With kind permission of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in support of the internship programme
- ¶With kind permission of Alice Theatre Laboratory
Rooftop Productions' involvement in this programme is supported by Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Hong Kong Arts Development Council supports freedom of artistic expression. The views and opinions expressed in this project do not represent the stand of the Council. This programme is co-presented and co-produced by WestK and Rooftop Productions, and is part of the WestK Creators series.
Awards & Recognition
Awards and recognition for shows or achievemenets
Nominated for
Best Performance
33rd Hong Kong Drama Awards
Nominated for
Best Director
33rd Hong Kong Drama Awards
Winner of
Best Original Music (Drama)
33rd Hong Kong Drama Awards
Nominated for
Performance of the Year
IATC (HK) Critics Awards 2024
Winner of
Scenography of the Year
IATC (HK) Critics Awards 2024
Nominated for
Director of the Year
IATC (HK) Critics Awards 2024
Winner of
Outstanding Production of the Year
33rd Hong Kong Drama Awards
Gallery
What Critics Say
Quotes from reviews and articles about us and our shows
Directors' Note
We started work on Songs of Innocence and Experience about two years ago, when The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) School of Drama invited us to direct a performance with their students. They put a lot of trust in us and gave us the freedom to work on a devised piece, developing the show based on various stimuli rather than a script.
As a starting point, we proposed Paradise Lost, while other works such as Catcher in the Rye, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Tristram Shandy served as references for the style of personal stories. , and Bo Burnham’s recent Inside was a reference for original songwriting. Paradise Lost became the main focus, and further research added more influence from Milton’s life and other works.
The first presentation of the work in the Studio Theatre at HKAPA took place in June 2022. It combined incorporated many of the elements of this version of the performance: music, live camera work, Blake’s images, Milton, Paradise Lost, and actors’ personal stories and discussions. However, the show is inherently tied to the performers’ journeys from Innocence to Experience, and so they have already moved on: it would be dishonest now to perform the same text, even though it was true at the time.
The sections of Paradise Lost have been rewritten to reflect a more mature connection with the text. The personal stories have mostly been completely changed, in both form and content. The approach to how we re-perform discussions from the rehearsal process is completely different, inspired to some extent by the Wooster Group’s use of video. We have an extra additional three musicians, kindly supported by the internship programme of HKAPA. Songs have been rewritten, replaced and rearranged.
In the devising process, everyone on the team has authorial involvement, and a sense of ownership of the content. Different people write or propose ideas for scenes or songs based on different various stimuli, test approaches in rehearsal, experiment, write and rewrite. We create a large number of different fragments like this, and constantly rearrange their structure based on themes, arcs and interesting juxtapositions. Much of the material is discarded as we narrow down on what is necessary, and new fragments are added in order to create meaning, or join disconnected ideas. The process is much more like editing a documentary than writing a script.
The idea of “’editing”’ is present not just a an organising principle of the performance, but as a scenographic device. The use of cameras and cuts between them explicitly borrows the language of Eisenstein’s montage. The performance creates meaning in the joining of different fragments, both in time, and in space. Perhaps this reflects the “multiplicity and contrariety of the world in which we live.,” but However, someone already said that about Josef Svoboda’s projections in the 60’s1960s, so hopefully we’re not too far behind.
It’s important to us that all the elements of theatre are live and present in the space (back to Svoboda, who complained of too many prerecorded elements “‘enslaving”’ the performer, losing “that which is beautiful about theatre.”) The music is a combination of both original pieces written by the team, and references that the audience may recognise. It can be serve as a vehicle for a story, an intertextual reference to shared culture or experiences, or a Greek chorus obliquely commenting on the action.
The interplay between the epic and the everyday is an essential element when working from a text like Paradise Lost, humanising gods and elevating the mundane. Ultimately, we want to tell our own stories: – stories that only we can tell, which reflect the place and times we are living through. The epic is a vehicle, rather than a museum piece, and so the author has to die and let us get on with it. This is a generation living through significant historical events; the art we make should reflect our time.
It has been an incredible opportunity to be able to work on improving a performance over such an extended period. Without it, we would never have been possible to achieve such a degree of openness and trust in this ensemble. We are grateful to West Kowloon Cultural District for supporting us to in reworking the show in this way, and giving us the trusting us to bring it to Freespace.
We are delighted to have met these graduates and students from HKAPA School of Drama during a low time for the whole performing arts industry. Your sincerity, courage, talent, determination and the hope for the future are always touching. Thank you for not giving up when you are feel lost, and for persisting in finding the value of yourself, and of the performance, after you wipe away your tears. Thank you for your trust in us. The world might not become better in an instant, but we hope that over the creative journey of Songs of Innocence and Experience, we have been able to find the strength and the drive to carry on.
About the Artists
Learn more about everyone involved in the production
Ivor Houlker
Ivor Houlker is a multidisciplinary theatre artist, who works internationally as a director, actor, musician, and programmer.
Michelle Li
Michelle Li is an interdisciplinary performer and theatre practitioner in Hong Kong. She has created site-specific theatre works in the UK, Greece, and Sicily, and continues to develop her performing and creative career locally, working as a producer, director, performer, and designer.
Bobo Lee
Senior Producer for Performing Arts at West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Bobo Lee is a curator and creative producer.
Sin Lok-yan
Graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts School of Drama in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Drama, majoring in Acting.
Sum Cheuk-yiu
Now a freelance actress, Sherrain graduated from School of Drama of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2023, major in acting.
Cheung Cheuk-hang
Currently a freelance performer, Cheung Cheuk-hang (Joseph) graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts School of Drama in 2023.
Chew Yu-yeung
Graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts School of Drama in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Drama, majoring in Acting. While pursuing his degree he joined several school productions and internships such as Ng Wong the Swordsman, Songs of Innocence and Experience and Pride and Prejudice by the Chung Ying Theatre Company .
Caroline Chan
A biracial (Hong Kong, Nigerian) and trilingual (Cantonese, Mandarin, English) performing artist. Graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts School of Drama in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Drama, majoring in Acting.
Lee On-sang
Graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts School of Drama in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Drama, majoring in Acting.
Mok Kok-pong
Graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts School of Drama in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Drama, majoring in Acting. Michael also holds a Bachelor degree in General Business Management from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Wu Lui-fung
Currently a Year 3 student in HKAPA School of Drama, majoring in Acting. He loves performing arts, such as singing and music.
Ngan Sze Man Tiffany
Currently a Year 2 student in HKAPA School of Drama, majoring in Acting for Drama. She has interest in different genres of music, playing guitar, jazz drums and singing.
Kwok Chun Hin Justin
Currently a Year 2 student in HKAPA School of Drama, majoring in Acting for Drama. Besides acting, he likes to study musical writing and will publish his newest Cantonese-translated work “Rogers: the Musical” in the coming year. Stay tuned!
Chan Wing Yung
Currently a Year 2 student in HKAPA School of Drama, majoring in Acting for Drama. Her hobby is recording daily conversations between others and herself. She also loves painting, dancing, singing and cooking.
Lo Man-chak
Lo Man Chak, graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts School of Drama in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Drama, majoring in Acting.
Chin Wing-kar
Currently a Year-3 student in HKAPA School of Drama, majoring in Acting. Kar loves singing, dancing, especially ballet and contemporary dance, choreography, composing music and is able to play 7 western and eastern musical instruments.
Mak Ho-tin
Graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts School of Drama in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Drama, majoring in Acting.
Lai Ka-ki
Kaki Lai graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a BFA (Hons) in Theatre and Entertainment Arts (majoring in Lighting Design).
Allison Fong Tsz-ching
Allison Fong graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a BFA (Hons) in Theatre and Entertainment Arts (majoring in Sound Design).
Tiffany Lau
Costume designer and scenic artist Tiffany Lau has worked in theatre production since 2011. She graduated from HKAPA with a BA in Fine Art.
Homan So
Homan So is currently studying at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (majoring in Sound Design).
Sung Kwok-tung
Currently a Year-3 student in HKAPA School of Drama, majoring in Acting. He participated in the school production Songs of Innocence and Experience as a live band musician; He was also a chorus in Man Of La Mancha by Chung Ying Theatre Company as an internship.
Tsang Yuen-lam Ivy
Tsang graduated from the Education University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor of Music Education (major in Piano). In 2020, she explored the world of theatre to expand artistic horizons and completed a one-year drama diploma at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.
Thomas Yau
Thomas Yau’s art practice focuses on photography, installation and art direction, with experience in the production of performing arts.
Becky Wong
Graduated from the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Creative Arts and Culture (Music) of The Education University of Hong Kong with a minor in Visual Arts. She was an Administrative Manager at On&On Theatre Workshop, handling program production and theatre operations, and as an Assistant Operations Manager at the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society. Wong is currently a freelance art administrator, producer and project coordinator. Cooperated organisations include West Kowloon Cultural District, Tai Kwun, On& On Theatre Workshop, Reframe Theatre, Felixism Creation, etc. Source: Becky Wong
Loui Yuen
Lawrence Lai
Li Chi-tak
Chi-tak Li began his career in the comics industry in 1982. After working for a comic publisher in Hong Kong for a month, started as a freelancer.
More
