香港當代戲劇中，「九七劇」是一個很大的熱潮。自八十年代中期開始，幾乎每年皆有至少一套與「九七回歸」或身份定位議題相關的戲劇上演。1997年回歸之前數年，氣氛更是熾熱。然而，九七過後，「九七劇」之後會是甚麼呢？這是香港劇壇所面對的問題，不同的評論者和劇作家皆給出了不同的答案。而被視為「上世紀九十年代以來創作力最旺盛，藝術實驗最具力度，本土文化感覺最強的編劇家」潘惠森，也以他的創作給出了一個以「本土」超越「本土」的答案。本篇論文就以潘惠森1997年「昆蟲系列」的第一套劇《雞春咁大隻曱甴兩頭岳》，至2006年「珠三角系列」的最後一套劇《南方的夜特別長》，即潘氏於回歸年及其後十年間的創作，探討他如何在主題和戲劇語言兩方面展現出香港戲劇其中一種「後九七」敘事。

“1997 drama” has been a hot genre in contemporary Hong Kong theatre. Since the mid-1980s, almost every year saw at least one production dealing with the handover or identity issues, and the climate grew more fervent in the immediate years leading up to 1997. What has become of, however, the “1997 drama” after 1997? This has been the question facing the Hong Kong theatrical community, and critics and dramatists have given a variety of answers. Among them is Poon Wai Sum, lauded as “the most vigorous playwright in terms of creativity, artistic experimentation and local cultural sensitivity since the 1990s.” His works aim to transcend “localness” with “localness.” This essay focuses on Poon’s creative output since the year of handover, starting from the first instalment of the “Insect Series,” The Cockroach that Flies Like a Helicopter (1997), to the concluding piece of the “Pearl River Delta Series,” Night and Dream in the South (2006), examining how his own “post-1997” narrative unfolds in themes and theatrical language.