Girl Play 2003

A stage for women’s voices

Poster for Girl Play 2003. (Courtesy of Hong Kong Women's Theater Festival).

By Cindy Mak

This play, together with eight other plays, courses, workshops and an exhibition series, comprised Girl Play 2003, Hong Kong Women’s Theater Festival.

“Delight to the heart, stimulation to the mind” was the slogan for this year’s Girl Play, which lasted from 8 March to 26 April.

All performers and creators of the plays and the exhibition are women.

The plays were illustrated from a woman’s perspective, based on topics like sex, homosexuality, love and different roles women bear nowadays.

“We had the idea of creating a theater festival for female artists three years ago.

“The first Girl Play in 2001 was a great success,” said Ribble Chung Siu Mui, one of the festival curators.

Girl Play takes place every two years.

Ms. Chung said, “The idea of creating Girl Play came up because female creators could not position themselves competitively in the theater business.

“Few plays are originated by women and more female oriented performances are needed.”

Stories of Our Little Sisters was a play about sex. It was not sexy, however. There was no nudity or any pictures of sex. It was about 20 women’s sexual experiences and their attitudes towards sex.

Ms. Cheng said, “Sex is a way we communicate through our bodies. It’s not only a physical activity, but also a mental one.

“Sex is not only a tool or a functional activity to bear children.

“Sex also conveys emotions.”

The play is comprised of interviews done by Ms. Cheng dating back to August 2002. Interviewees’ ages ranged from 18 to 80. Ms. Cheng demonstrated the stories by her body, her voice and different lighting.

There were no supporting actors.

Grace Cheng Yee Chai, another festival curator, said, “Many people are interested in the issue of sex, especially women.

“They can’t really talk with their friends or their partners openly about sex.

“Throughout the play, they can think about their attitudes towards sex and understand how others perceive sex.

“Girl Play allows the audience to think deeply about what they do not dare to think of or do not have the time to think about in daily life.”

Although all the performers and creators of Girl Play are women, this does not mean that the theater festival is against men.

Ms. Cheng said, “I need male audience members.

“I can know how men in general feel towards sex from their responses.

“Nowadays, men are very suppressed, too.”

Besides, Ms. Chung said that female creators can bring their own sensitivity, criticisms and concepts to the theater.

“Throughout their own re-creation of their experiences, the local theater can encounter an expansion in popularity and artistry,” said she.

After Girl Play 2001, many young female creators started their own directing and performing careers.

“Through Girl Play, we want to encourage female artists to create their own stories and perform them.

“We want to boost the number of female artists.

“The market needs female artists and Girl Play introduces new female artists to the market,” Ms. Chung added.

Home