Performative Responses to Anti-Asian Hate amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Digital Activism and Community Building in WeRNotVirus

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant increase in hate crimes against East and South East Asian communities was registered worldwide. In the UK, this surge of racism induced British East and South East Asian (BESEA) theatre directors Jennifer Tang and Anthony Lau to raise awareness about the kinds of discrimination and violence their communities were experiencing by producing WeRNotVirus. A digital performance event which aired on Zoom on 13 and 14 June 2020, WeRNotVirus includes ten short plays, many of which interlace different media and art forms, among them spoken word, song, dance, and animation. This article interrogates WeRNotVirus as an example of viral theatre and analyses how its digital format, performative aesthetics, and political agenda intersect. It demonstrates that WeRNotVirus can be read as a tool of digital activism: (1) to voice anger and frustration at experiencing COVID-19-related racial hate in order to establish public awareness, understanding, and empathy regarding the pain and trauma that racial discrimination can produce and thereby resist it, (2) to establish a spirit of community and support for all those experiencing anti-Asian hate and attacks, and (3) to increase the visibility and representation of BESEA artists in British society.