What Is Success
Theatre
Description
Description
“What is Success?” is the third of Lam’s interpretations of the four great classics of Chinese literature, following “What Is Man?” and “What Is Fantasy?” In a departure from the conventional depiction of male heroes, Lam transforms Jia Baoyu’s 12 beauties into heroines, and interprets anew the macho story of “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” with a female-dominated cast. Whereas men donned armour in ancient battles, the “qipao” is the female armour of today. Lam intersects the image of the conventional woman with the life-and-death struggles of the male world, using his signature subversive-yet-enlightening style to usher in a theatrical experience which is at once rational and aesthetic.
As in the original, Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Quan form the central axis of the drama. Guided by these three characters on stage, the audience enters the world of the “Three Kingdoms” with a feminine twist, though their circumstances contrast greatly with those of their modern counterparts. In the great episodes of history, who will be remembered in the future? Whose name will last forever? Lam analyses the central characters afresh from a psychological perspective – Liu Bei, who takes it upon himself to achieve his grand enterprise, is the “superego”; Cao Cao, who aims to grab what he likes is the “id”; and Sun Quan, a youth in quest of the self, is the “ego”.
Always daring to re-invent the classics, Lam takes 12 well-known chapters from the original including “Oath of the Peach Garden”, “Cao Cao Discusses Heroes” and “Zhuge Liang Sacrifices to the Winds” and re-interprets them in a modern context. Using the historical ambiance of “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, he touches on the importance modern man places on self-esteem and its associated brittleness. Lam says, “When we find one less ‘like’ on Facebook, or no one forwards our Weibo message, we feel bad. Through these platforms we try hard to show and assert our own existence, yet we are highly vulnerable.” Wong Wing-sze adds that the production will be a “mischievously playful yet heartbreaking epic poem of theatre”.
Director：Edward Lam
Literature Consultant：Chao Yang
Choreography：Yuri Ng
Cast：Hung Chang Chu; Ethan Wei; Yi Hsiu Shi; Heng Yin Chou; Ying Hsun Hsieh; Chia Hsin Lu; Angie Wang; Rosa Maria Velasco; Tiffany Pan; Joanne Deng; Yi Lan Chao; Maria Yang; Patty Chu; Nai Han Hsu; Kanny Lai; Rebecca Yip; Hao Min Liao
Production Director：Bobo Chan
Set Design：Ewing Chan
Lighting Design：Billy Chan
Original Music：Chien Chi Chen
Sound Design：Chak Ming Chung
Multimedia Design：John Wong
Image Design：Kary Kwok
Hairstyling and Makeup Design：Gyokurei Suzuka
Graphic Design：Arron Nieh
Note：This event record is compiled from "Hong Kong Drama Yearbook 2013" published by International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong).
Past overseas shows : 2012/12/28-31 台北
Info
$120
$420
Indoor
Local
