The Children Play Theatre Lai Chi WOW! is a countryside cultural innovation project involving a Play Theatre and a Bamboo Playground temporarily set up in Lai Chi Wo - a remote 300-year-old Hakka village and one of the biggest and best-preserved rural settlements in Hong Kong. Bringing together community, innovation, and technology, it was a realisation of Zuni’s research effort on children’s theatre studies.

In the Play Theatre equipped with low-power consuming projectors, light and audio systems, and arts tech installation, children and families were gathered together to learn about countryside culture. They were joined by the “Four Mascots of Lai Chi Wo” namely, dragonfly, butterfly, frog, and Rice Fish, who performed original songs introducing the history, agriculture customs of the historical local village, the 24 solar terms, countryside ecology and the process of re-cultivation.

The Bamboo Playground, combining traditional craftsmanship “Bamboo Scaffolding” structure and innovative design made out of a renewable natural material, was particularly built for children to have fun. With the theme of the traditional Chinese 24 solar terms and the Augmented Reality application featuring the “Four Mascots”, children can learn through play in the whole interactive theatre experience! That also represents how Zuni envisions future classroom.

After the pandemic, children and adults alike long for a trip away from home and human connections. Lai Chi WOW!, integrating arts and technology, tradition and innovation, was specifically designed to invite audience to put mobile devices aside and immerse in the bucolic setting of Lai Chi Wo countryside. By connecting with rural area and singing along to the catchy songs, families can decompress while children can learn and play