'Reality theatre' Fight Night - a democracy game show

Ontroerend Goed and The Border Project

At a time when the city is debating how the next chief executive should be elected comes Fight Night, a piece of “reality theatre” that aims to get audiences thinking about democracy, elections and political manipulation.

Part of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the interactive piece takes the format of a game show with a stage set reminiscent of a boxing ring.

The five actors, or contenders, will “battle” to get the audience’s vote and sympathy, in a representation of an election.

“The show doesn’t talk about politics literally,” says artistic director Alexander Devriendt of Ontroerend Goed. “It resembles politics and voting. It makes you question how and why you vote for somebody — why you would trust a stranger to represent you and your beliefs.”

In Fight Night, the five actors will observe crowd behaviour and manipulate it to vote their opponents out. A different “winner” might emerge every night, depending on the reaction from the audience.

“Each character will have a unique personality, which will mainly be based on the personality of the actor.