Preview-An Evening with the Bard-HKPFF
4-11-14
By: Tom Hope
Shakespeare has been put through the wringer every which way over the centuries – but the mangle has been rolled out big time for this year’s HK People’s Fringe Festival.
‘An Evening With The Bard’ is a collation of works from the UK’s most celebrated cultural export – nothing unusual there – but at its core is ‘Sorry, Shakespeare!’, a short play commissioned by Shakespeare in the Port for touring to local schools in Hong Kong. Here’s how the blurb describes it:
‘…. four community theatre actors report for play rehearsal only to find out the director is not coming. To add to the confusion, one of the cast members has dropped three rehearsal scripts. The pages fly everywhere. No problem – except the scripts are "Macbeth," "The Taming of the Shrew," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." As one of the actors quips, "We don't know anything about Shakespeare, but it all sounds the same anyway, so grab some pages…
Could this be a super-smart ruse to cover up for under-rehearsed actors slung together at the last minute unable to remember their lines?
“No way!’ explodes Meaghan McGurgan, Artistic Director for Shakespeare in the Port and director of this Evening with the Bard. ‘My actors have been off-book for a month. And Sorry, Shakespeare! is about a play within a play, where all the characters are actors. It's been a really fun piece to work on. We have a lot of inside theatre jokes in the material, such as actor warmups and such. And we have four great actors in Emma O'Rourke, Joe Fiorello, Boaz Lo and Minna Cheung. We also have a fabulous understudy Karina Curlewis. They're all incredibly professional and bring a lot of fun ideas to the table.”
So what was the inspiration for the show? Meaghan explains:
“We wanted to showcase a variety of Shakespeare's works last year but didn't have the time to make the schedule work. I was delighted that the Hong Kong People's Fringe Festival wanted to continue working with me, so I decided to make the showcase part of this year’s Fringe Festival. Shakespeare in the Port is all about exposing new audiences to Shakespeare and bringing new audiences to the Hong Kong stage. I think with our low ticket price points and the variety of material we’re going to do just that – and people will really enjoy it.”
It’s one of the few shows in English at this year's People’s Fringe Festival and proceeds will be channeled back to raise money for facilities by which to enhance the Festival for years to come. And it’s being performed in theatre space, We Draman in San Po Kong, which Meaghan describes as ‘a hidden treasure’. The venue is owned by local acting company We Draman which is ran by Hong Kong stage legend, Desmond Tang. Meaghan is delighted to be working with new collaborators and partners. ‘I love finding new venues to perform in Hong Kong’ she says ‘and showing audiences there's more to the art scene here.’
So what’s the target audience? ‘Anyone who loves Shakespeare’ says Meaghan ‘or who has had a bad Shakespeare experience and wants to give it another try. No standing stiffly downstage centre for monologues… Sorry, Shakespeare! in particular is very silly at times – we took a lot of nods from Loony Tunes.’
Meaghan herself had a bad experience with Shakespeare when she was at school, with teachers who made her read out loud from a book in class instead of ‘getting it’ from a live performance on stage. ‘I didn’t get to understand it because I wasn’t given the opportunities to experiment. And worse – when I asked questions I was laughed at in drama school or judged [for wanting to know] why are they talking like that?’
Now a fervent convert, she wants this year’s Shakespeare in the Port to be fun and encourage the asking of questions. And, like An Evening With The Bard, to be affordable: ‘tickets are only HK$100 – what have you got to lose?’
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An Evening with the Bard is playing at the We Draman Theatre November 12th through 15th at 8pm. The location of the theatre is 16 Tai Yau Street, 3rd floor, Cheong Tai Factory Building, San Po Kong. The closest MTR is Diamond Hill exit A. Cast and crew assure that it is just a 5 minute walk from the station. Tickets for the show are 100HKD and can be purchased online through Eventbrite and at the door. There are are less than 10 tickets left for the Saturday evening show, so booking ahead is suggested for this night. There is also a discount for audience members who want to go on the Wed/Thursday shows if they book online, just type "supportlocalart" into the code box and receive 10% off. You can also enter the HKELD giveaway for this show. Sorry, Shakespeare! will also be on tour in Hong Kong schools starting in December.
For more information about the Hong Kong People's Fringe Festival, click here.
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