GPO Box No.211; written and directed by Carmen Lee (also responsible for lighting) and performed by Chun Shing Au (also responsible for the model/mask/paper design), is a theatre/dance piece inspired by an exchange of letters with the creators’ friend Siu Ming (a pseudonym), who was incarcerated as a political prisoner for three years following the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. It’s presented by Theatre du Poulet at A Space Gallery as part of SummerWorks.

The set up is basically a blank white space with the tech desk at one end with a table on which sit components that will later be assembled into a model. At the other end is a large roll of white paper. The floor is covered with crumpled up bits of paper. The audience finds standing or sitting space as best they can around the perimeter. It begins with the performer handing each audience member first one crumpled letter, and then another. These are letters to Siu Ming which talk about running and seeing the moon and the inconveniences of being in prison including bizarre limits on the size of packets of M&Ms.

Chun Shing Au assem,bles the model which, I’m guessing, is the prison. He then sweeps up the crumpled paper and unrolls an enormous sheet of white paper which refuses to lie flat. He wrestles with it, he disappears under it. He wraps himself in it and dons the prison model as a mask/headpiece. It has lights inside. Eventually the model finds itself at the opposite end of the space while the performer runs on the crumpled paper gathering it under his feet and then there’s a very cute surprise at the end. All this takes about an hour.

So I could see the references back to the letters. There was running and a sense of moonlight, or its absence, and there was a prison. There were also M&Ms but you will have to go to find out how they were worked in. It feels well thought through and quite polished; it’s been seen in multiple European venues. And, as a writer, I can empathise with someone struggling with a blank sheet of paper! It is though very abstract and probably more for experimental theatre nerds than the general public.

We were warned beforehand that there were issues with the sound and lighting so there may be dimensions to the show that I didn’t experience. There are further performances today (Saturday) and Sunday.

Photo credit: Thomas Lenden