Set to the poetry of Xu Lizhi 許立志 by Toronto-based composer Njo Kong Kie 楊光奇, these songs deliver a lamentation for our digital age. Xu toiled in a factory in Shenzhen, China, where he, along with hundreds of thousands of others who were unseen and ignored, manufactured the digital devices we use every day. Xu’s spare and profound poetry is an indictment of labour exploitation, and it also offers a glimpse into his interior life: his hopes, his dreams, and his struggle under the unbearable weight of existence.

A Requiem for Our Digital Age

"...a melancholic anthem and cry of protest for the invisible thousands who remain exploited" - Bakchormeeboy, Singapore

"Excavation of the unseen labour which underpins our modern existence, told with exquisite beauty and brutality" - The List, Edinburgh

"Njo Kong Kie’s heartfelt compositions were complemented by his impressive vocal range, which conveyed the raw emotional power of Xu’s poetry" - ArtsHub, Adelaide

"You'll never look at your phone the same way again" - Toronto Star, Toronto

A Song Cycle for our Digial Age

The Poetry

This song cycle is set to the powerful poems of Xu Lizhi (1990-2014). As a worker-poet, Xu Lizhi leaves the world an insightful glimpse into the lives of workers in an electronics manufacturing factory that produces the gadgets powering our digital life.

Carrying universal truth, Xu’s words and struggles link him to the greater whole - the digital connections he helped create bind us to the people who make them. His words expose the greater economic machinery that enslaves the world. His works highlight not only his struggles, but that of countless other unseen workers around the world, from the factory floor to the office boardroom.

Soundtrack

To order show soundtrack, please fill out the Contact form below.

Vinyl is CAD$45 plus delivery. A set of postcards is included.

Tour History

Canadian Stage, Toronto, 2019 (Premier)

Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2019

PuSh Festival, live stream, 2021

Living Things Festival, Kelowna, 2022

PuSh Festival, Vancouver, 2022

South East Asia Tour (Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta), 2023

OzAsia Festival, Adelaide, 2023

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Photos by: Mikael Aldo, Dahlia Katz, Gabriel Fung Kwok Kee, Ziv Chun