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Civil Servants are in the firing line in Zuni Icosahedron's latest political satire, writes Bourree Lam

Thanks to the combination of Saturday Night Live and the political aspirations of a certain Alaskan governor with an alarming lack of knowledge on world affairs (those darned Russkies aside), political satire has been omnipresent in the news recently.

On our own shores, the seventh edition of Zuni Icosahedron’s sardonic political series East Wing West Wing, the government-inspired Hong Kong Civil Servant Death Note, hits the stage this fortnight. A spoof on popular Japanese anime Death Note, the inspiration comes from the ‘Death Gods’ in the cartoon – creatures that kill upon a single touch. Zuni’s upcoming show duly appropriates this concept for a series of political skits that attack politicos such as Chief Executive ‘Thoughtless D.’

“Civil servants are ‘Death Gods’,” says Zuni’s founder and director Mathias Woo. “Whatever civil servants touch, it dies; like trees, education, and so on.”

Founded in 1982, Zuni Icosahedron has become one of the city’s most notable group of political satirists. Zuni started the East Wing West Wing series in 2003, with ideas of exploring Hong Kong politics through theatre. The EWWW series, an obvious nod to Aaron Sorkin’s NBC drama The West Wing, is the group’s ongoing comedy. Though each ‘episode’ is based on a different theme, the core message remains the same: politics are silly, especially in Hong Kong. Zuni provides the kind of entertaining political conversation that’s strangely missing from local television, although not from people’s everyday conversations. Through theatre, Zuni aims to educate as well as inspire. “We’re filling a gap,” says Woo. “[What’s out there] is not a dialectical way to look at politics.”

As long as politics has existed, so has satire, historically used to foment opposition to the powers that be, as well as provide light entertainment for the masses. From Aristophanes to Tina Fey, comedians have long mocked their rulers – showing that although they’re often all-powerful, they’re still only human. “The Hong Kong situation is more like a comedy than a drama, as the British never really developed politics here until Patten,” argues Woo. “Most of the people in Hong Kong are not used to that kind of political process.”

Though East Wing West Wing is a live theatrical variety performance, Woo actually believes it would work even better as a regular TV show, stretching the conservativeness of current programming, and reaching into people’s homes to offer an alternative perspective of politics. Much like Saturday Night Live, where the show’s ratings recently shot through the roof with Tina Fey’s dead on impression of Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin.

Perhaps the most unique demonstration of Zuni’s broad appeal and political power is the case of retired Zuni actress Tanya Chan, who has gone from mocking politicians in plays to being a bona fide member of LegCo, recently voted in as a geographical constituency member for Hong Kong Island as a member of the Civic Party. “A democratic society should have this, where we make politics into art,” proclaims Woo. “Comedy is not encouraged [here] because it offends people,” he adds. “Chinese people don’t want to offend people. We’re not in the Western context where we can do art for art's sake; we’re looking for social innovation; how art can interact with this society.”

In …Death Note, for instance, the comedy aims to help people laugh at the problems of our outdated bureaucratic system, and inspire the public to think on what can be done to reform it. On the heels of the American presidential elections, where record voter turnout caught the world’s attention, Woo hopes that EWWW can similarly inspire the apathetic ‘me’ generation to take part in politics. “A lot of things, like politics, have to be boring,” says Woo. “But teaching can be entertaining. We are becoming a public space for people to share their experiences.”

During the 2003 SARS crisis, Zuni had a great turnout to its shows. That explains why, on the brink of a new calamity, Woo remains one of the most positive people around. “Creativity evolves in crisis circumstances,” he explains. When the crowds are angry, worried, and frustrated with authority, they will participate in art for relief.

Accordingly, and to stay fresh, the ideas and framework of each play are flexible, allowing the script to incorporate the latest news and politics. “This is not TVB,” says actor Cedric Chan, in an appropriately comedic fashion. “But it’s [intended] to change and effect how people think,” as Woo declares, “We’re like a University.” Though as a closing and relevant reminder of Zuni’s role, in theatre and in politics, he quickly adds: “but we’re not civil servants.”

See: www.zuni.org.hk