My Luxurious 50 Square Feet Life

If the UK housing market seems out of control, it’s got nothing on Hong Kong. Cinematic Theatre Company uncover a world of massive rent hikes, constant relocation and—as the title indicates—the huge growth of 50 square feet sub-divided housing units. Humans crammed into spaces smaller than prison cells, contending with damp, insect infestation and the constant risk of fire or gas leak.

It’s shocking, urgent material, presented using often startling images. One woman bursts from a bag, while another is wrapped tight in cling-film. In a blunt satirical film, four reality TV show contestants are filmed living in a sub-divided unit, struggling with cockroaches, claustrophobia and the close, constant presence of one another. They barely last a day.

While there are powerful moments, however, the piece as a whole is loosely held together. Other than the central theme, there is no connecting thread. The show moves abruptly from scene to scene, image to image, governed by no apparent dramatic shape. The attempt to make this a partly immersive, interactive experience for audiences, meanwhile, is awkwardly handled.

There is no doubt that this is an issue that needs raising, but in Cinematic Theatre Company’s production we get little clear idea of the reasons behind this housing crisis and the wider web of effects it is having on the population of Hong Kong. Instead, we are offered a view as limited and hemmed in as the housing units themselves, not allowing a full glimpse at the bigger picture.