Artist of The Month- December- Sean Curran
Theatre Du Pif, a Hong Kong theatre company known for its cross-cultural heritage and bilingual productions performing in Cantonese, English or both, is a pillar of the local artistic community.
Using a workshop and devising process as well as collaborations with dramaturges and artists from other disciplines, they orchestrate movement, text and visual images to produce productions acclaimed both for their power and their poetry.
Viewing 4.48, a theatrical journey into the world of Sarah Kane and her blistering final play 4.48 Psychosis, is their latest work and it will be showing this month at Hong Kong Cultural Centre (more information here). We have interviewed Sean Curran, co-founder of the company, to hear more about his background and his views towards the local theatre scene.
1. Name, Birthplace, age:
Sean Curran, London, 52.
2. How does where you were raised affect your work?
I was raised on a housing estate in North Edinburgh(Trainspotting country).The area was full of interesting characters with a story to tell and back then kids spent most of their spare time playing on the streets.It was a good grounding for a life in theatre.
3. Where did you train?
Central School of Speech and Drama in London and with Jacques Lecoq in Paris.
4. What is your favorite style of theatre? Why?
I can’t say I have a favourite style but there are theatre directors whose work have inspired me.The storytelling qualities and the universal language of theatre found in Peter Brook’s productions at his Theatre des Bouffes du Nord was a significant influence, as was the imaginative and innovative work of the Canadian director Robert Lepage.
5. What was the best show you EVER saw?
A version of Jean Anouilh's Antigone by The Georgian State Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1993.
6. What was the best show in HK you EVER saw?
Tomas Ostermeier’s Nora at the HKAF.
7. What piece of work are you the proudest?
Probably The Will to Build (A verbatim theatre piece which explored the past, present and future of HK’s relentless cycle of construction and destruction, and its effects on the bodies, heart and soul of its people).
8. What is your process like?
It varies each time as some productions are devised and can take months to come to fruition while others are interpretations of classic plays that are rehearsed in a more traditional way over a 5 to 6 week period.
9. What is your dream project?
To collaborate with theatre director Robert Lepage and Hong Kong cinematographer Kwan Pun Leung on a theatre piece that is inspired by the culture, the people and the stories of past and present-day Hong Kong.
10. What do you think about the arts and theatre scene in Hong Kong?
The cultural scene is much more vibrant now than when I arrived in HK back in 1995. Many theatre companies are doing a wide variety of work, and I feel very optimistic about the future. Projects like WKCD will enhance the cities reputation as an arts hub, and I believe we will see a new generation of theatre artists emerge while international artists will spend more time here sharing their expertise with local practitioners.
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