2025 Bhagavad Gita 2.0 in Hong Kong

 

For the second edition of the successful play "Bhagavad Gita 2025", Tang Shu-wing, the renowned theatre director, actor and educator in Hong Kong who has worked in professional theatre for 30 years, brought together not only enormous commitment but also an outstanding team once again to attract local and foreign visitors to the BOX of the West Kowloon Cultural Centre in Hong Kong for 10 days at the end of June.

Around 420 seats had to be filled, sometimes twice a day, which was no easy task with ticket prices ranging from 30 to 60 euros. But the contemporary interpretation of an Indian epic in a Chinese setting, in Cantonese everyday language and a discussion round in English fascinated visitors in the packed black box every evening.

„Bhagavad means Venerable One, and Gita refers to a heavenly anthem, taken from the epic poem, the Mahabharata, which describes the story of a kingdom at war in ancient India.“

This Bhagavad Gita, directed by Tang Shu-wing delivered an impressive spiritual journey of a mixture of contemporary theatre from audio-visual to movement theatre, presenting a situation with the versatility of modern theatre.

A philosophical, intellectual reflection of two worlds, the historically mythological and the highly contemporary, linked by form as an important element in the expression and movement of the bodies, choreography serves as a link between imagination and effect.

The audience considered the show in the context of our current times, the curse of misinformation and the seemingly unchecked addiction of some to making their fortunes on the backs of others.

"We are at war with the tech giants and those who are selfishly expanding their territory into a world empire through war and destruction."

The Bhagavad Gita may have taken a step towards enlightenment and shown the importance of communication and understanding between people in order to avoid and resolve conflicts. Perhaps it is the philosophical and psychological approach to something positive. With the incessant struggles of humanity and the constant influence of artificial intelligence, perhaps the Bhagavad Gita can provide us with some kind of enlightenment.

Can we see in this the intellectual purpose of this play and also of theatre, again to promote a new kind of enlightenment, to pause, to reflect, to rethink?

According to the Indologist Johannes Mehlig: "The Bhagavadgita, which is unsurpassed in its popularity, proves to be a reservoir of the most diverse philosophical teachings and religious views when viewed critically from a philological distance. Perhaps it is precisely this fact that has led to its outstanding popularity."

"The storytellers and other performers presented two different worlds, mirroring the Bhagavad Gita and reality. Form is one of the most important elements, through the expression and movement of the body, as well as the high intensity of the choreography, interweaving impact and imagination." (Tang Shu-wing)

The director had once again engaged two well-known and very popular personalities from Hong Kong with different backgrounds as narrators. On the one hand, TV personality Mandy Wong took to the stage as a narrator for the first time, and on the other, singer Endy Chow, who has been a celebrated star of the scene for years. The performance of the two on completely new terrain and in close proximity to the audience led the numerous fans present to engage with the intellectual, topical background - a win-win situation for several sides.

Two English performances with different casts were produced to reach a different audience profile. Conversations with the director and overseas guests after the performance in English refined the theatrical Indian-Chinese menu.

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