Program | 《車你好冇》場刋

I still remember it was only two years ago our company contemplated how to deal with the masks policies soon after the pandemic eased up. Although it appears everything is back to normal now, the fact is many people and things have changed. There are people who still have to worry about livelihood, and then some people seem to see through the world and change their attitudes towards life, and I am one of them. 

The last time I directed a play turned out to be ten years ago. Then in 2019 I had a small role in Farewell The Good Old Days, and was later also selected to play a main role in Spring Fever Hotel, a large-scale play to celebrate Four Seas Players’ 50th anniversary. I was very excited about the opportunity but unfortunately the production was canceled due to the pandemic. Although acting has never been my strong interest, I have always wanted to try different things, so it was a little disappointing at the time. (Later, by chance, I volunteered in another non-profit organization Family Harmony, helping them on their website and hosting an online event.) 

After the pandemic our theater company still had to face many difficulties, but when I saw that there were still a group of friends who were passionate about theater, I decided to return to directing. When choosing a script, I didn’t really have any special preferences. The only thing I wanted was a play which is about family communication and relationships. At that time, I felt that as long as the script and story were organized and the staging did not need to be too complicated. When our Artistic Director sent me two scripts to read, I quickly chose The Bloody Hell, probably because I was attracted by its title (because it sounds like foul language in Cantonese). In all seriousness, I was drawn to this play because of my own personal growth and participation in the Family Harmony activities during the pandemic. I want this play to be a funny and heartwarming exploration of family dynamics. I hope that the audience will leave the theater feeling inspired and uplifted.

Honestly, I’ve never had much to ask for in choosing a script. I think that no matter what the script is, my responsibility as a director is to try to make it the best it can be. To me a play script is like a constructed illustration, and the director’s job is to add a little color to it, using different colors to create different effects. Actors, sets, lighting, sound effects, and costumes are the paint, and the actors and crew are the pen and paper. Different directors can completely interpret the same script with different effects and create a different feeling. Selecting the script is only the first step. Then we need to choose the actors and understand each one’s potential, their ability to understand the script, and each person’s performance style. Through communicating with the actors, I need to adjust the direction of the play. Recognizing the characteristics of each actor is like facing a bunch of different paints……you have to keep adjusting and mixing them slowly to realize what the resulting effect will be. 

The two plays I directed ten years ago: Raymond To Kwok-wai’s I Love Ah Ai for the Four Seas Players, and The Emperor Liang Jeweled Repentance, a production I worked on for a Buddhist charity event, are both large-scale productions with more than a dozen actors. There are only nine actors in The Bloody Hell this time, but the handling is not as easy as those two. At the beginning, I thought this play was a very simple and straightforward story, but later I made a lot of “discoveries” during the rehearsal process… for example, I found that the playwright Matthew Cheng has many very clever subplots, the arrangements are appropriate, and the laughter has been non-stop. I also found that the script is very tight, and therefore the actors have to spend a lot of energy during the performance, so it is my job to ensure that each actor can maintain their state of mind. In addition, in order to make this play more life-like and realistic, I put a lot of thought into the design of the set, aiming to bring out a nostalgic feeling of Hong Kong. In the third act, there is a car rushing into the garage. When I saw the pictures from the performance in Hong Kong, there was a real car on stage, but is it possible to accomplish the same in our small theater? After some discussions with our production team, we finally came up with a workable solution. 

As a non-profit community theater group, the actors are in different age groups and have different acting experience. As a director, I have the responsibility of both a coach and a nanny. Our actors are all volunteers, so they do not come here for their livelihood or realizing their dreams, but only for their enthusiasm for theater. This is why I have continuously supported and participated in countless productions by Four Seas Players over the years. I am a person who enjoys the process more than the result. I never deliberately set goals, because I know that there will always be something gained in every process. I firmly believe that as long as you go all out in the process, the result will always be worth it.

Four Seas Players has been promoting stage plays and Cantonese culture for over fifty years, and I hope this performance can achieve the same goals. This time it took nearly twice as much time to prepare and rehearse, compared to the plays I directed before, because I hope to be able to do my best in every detail. The rehearsal process was challenging, but it was also very rewarding. We had a great cast and crew who were all passionate about the play. We worked hard to create a realistic and immersive experience for the audience. I am grateful to my assistant director (also my wife) Sonia for her help, care and selfless support during the whole process. Lastly, I would like to thank the cast, crew, and family for their hard work and dedication. This play would not have been possible without them.I hope that you will enjoy The Bloody Hell as much as I do. I believe that it is a play that will stay with you long after you have seen it.

P.S.: This performance revolves around the stress of life. Therefore, I would like to share an article on “Emotional Balance” provided by Chris Chan, the founder of Family Harmony, hoping to help those of you who in need. Click here for the article.