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The following is issued on behalf of the Provisional Regional Council:

The Hong Kong Theatre of the Deaf invites the public to join the world of the "Visual Communication Theatre" by going beyond the sound of silence and tuning in the "international channel" of sign language.

Although the performers will not use words and dialogues to tell stories and express themselves, they will communicate with the audience in the mime theatre through their facial expressions, gestures and movement.

Presented by the Provisional Regional Council, the "Visual Communication Theatre" will be staged at the Tsuen Wan Town Hall from July 4 to 5 and at the Tuen Mun Town Hall from July 10 to 11. The performance will start at 8 pm.

The "Visual Communication Theatre" demands a high degree of cooperation and mutual understanding between the performers, and is a form of theatre which is emotionally expressive.

The programme includes "The Deaf Experience" and "The Tourist" which are excerpts from "No More Lesser", and an original improvised play "The Theft of the Spirit".

"The Theft of the Spirit" attempts to make use of the agile body language, rich imagination and the sensitive heart of every member of the Theatre of the Deaf to explore the fragility of the heart of the mankind under technological civilization. The sense of emptiness prevailing in the spiritual world will also be explored.

The inspiration of this play comes from a book written by Carl A. Hammerschlag. The theatre piece has been created by the famous mime artist Wong Kwok Chung with members of the Theatre of the Deaf.

"The Deaf Experience" follows the heart of a deaf man experiencing barriers while "The Tourist" is a light-hearted visual performance of a typical tourist arriving in Hong Kong for the first time.

Established in 1989, the Theatre has collaborated with many Hong Kong theatre artists and groups including Kevin Ho, Desmond Tang, Sand & Bricks, We Draman Group and so on.

In 1995, it performed "The End?" at the 4th International Abilympics in Australia.

Tickets priced at $80 may now be purchased at all URBTIX outlets. Half-price tickets are available for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above and the disabled holding a concessionary card.

For telephone reservation, please call 2734 9009. For enquiries, please call 2414 0144 (Tsuen Wan) or 2450 1105 (Tuen Mun).

End/Wednesday, June 10, 1998

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