巴托比

About the show

At first, he was the perfect employee in the office—diligent, quiet, impeccable. Until one day, faced with an extra simple instruction, he said softly yet with absolute clarity: "I would prefer not to." When everything slips beyond his control, he chooses to cling tightly to the right to say "no." From refusing to proofread documents, to refusing any work at all; from staring for long stretches at the brick wall outside the window, to then refusing to leave the office that no longer belongs to him, and finally refusing to eat... This is his most thorough declaration of freedom within the space that remains. Is it the last weapon to defend his soul, or a slow self-destruction? When this silent cog chooses to stop turning, will this vast city pause for even a second to notice him? Adapted from the enduring masterpiece by Herman Melville, author of *Moby-Dick*, this work captures the absurdity and sorrow of the everyman in the 19th century, sparking endless resonance for over a century. Following *Les Misérables* and *A Tale of Two Cities*, Chung Ying Theatre Company (中英劇團) once again invites renowned British playwright and director Jonathan Holloway to adapt and direct, reimagining this tragic Wall Street story as a desperate cry that confronts the spiritual dilemmas of our contemporary age.

Synopsis translated by KinoHK — the performance itself is not in English unless stated above.