What’s On: Freedom Hi at VAULT Festival… a perspective of British east Asians in the UK

Hong Kong has been convulsed by an ongoing protest movement which has been seen as a last stand for its semi-autonomy from China since March 2019.

That year also saw the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Solidarity movements have formed across the globe, including repeated gatherings of up to 4,000 people outside the Chinese embassy in London.

This week, a show will provide a platform for the often overlooked perspective of British east Asians and Hong Kongers based in the UK.

Freedom Hi at VAULT Festival will show politics on a very human level experienced by many British people with Chinese heritage.

Freedom Hi is a collage of multi-disciplinary expression about the Hong Kong AntiELab protests.

Building a conspiratorial relationship with the audience, they will choose which performance pieces to experience within the framework of the show.

Personal experiences and political commentary combine in an act of total theatre and performance art created by UK-based Hong Kong and British east Asian artists during the protests.

Director Kim Pearce said: “For those from Hong Kong and those that care about Hong Kong, 2019 was devastating, traumatising, inspiring and demanding.

“Articulating the present moment, triangulating between colonial history and an increasingly totalitarian Chinese government is endlessly complex.

“The work that UK-based east Asian and Hong Kong artists have created around this is important and asks big questions that apply to anyone with a stake in democracy.

It’s been my privilege to work with these artists and to create this platform for their work at VAULT Festival 2020.”