Pacific Festival at Gateway Theatre

I was very excited when I was at one of the Richmond Night Markets last month and saw a huge banner promoting the Pacific Festival at Richmond's Gateway Theatre. This was a theatre festival of plays conducted in Cantonese with English subtitles! That meant I could bring my mother out to catch some local theatre and she would be able to understand it! Wow!

The Pacific Festival has several events taking place, including a few FREE performances. It also has two full length plays coming up, including a Cantonese version of Tuesdays With Morrie!

So tonight we went to the opening night event, a free performance of The Will To Build, on only today and Friday. This dual Cantonese/English performance piece touches on the evolution of Hong Kong from being a neglected British colony of farmers and peasants into a bustling metropolis and all the struggles that come along with it, climaxing with the recent student protest movement that took place.

I need to commend Theatre Du Pif for creating a show that bridges these two languages, intertwining them into a story full of physical movement and poetic monologue. Originally set to be performed outdoors, today's rain storm dashed those hopes and brought the show inside, which everyone rolled along with. Great job!

Be sure to check out all the happenings at the Pacific Festival and get your pass so you can see all the shows!