Preview-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest-Naiad Productions

  26-9-14

By: Meaghan McGurgan

 

Director and producer Lara Genovese has made quite a name for herself the last few years in Hong Kong. Starting off as a designer for shows like Orphans and California Suite Lara began her directing career with An Accidental Death of an Anarchist and last year’s P.S.- Your Cat is Dead! She’s now hitting harder material in a larger space with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest next month at the HK Rep Blackbox. Known for her stellar attention to detail, we’re looking forward to how she interprets the barren space of a mental institution. 

 
“Cuckoo's Nest has been quoted by people as either their favorite book or favorite movie, so it is a well known story to start with," says Genovese when asked why audiences will enjoy this production. "The script and book are written in a sarcastic manner and hold also strong emotional parts that narrate and critique institutional process and human behavior. These [parts] are specifically set in a mental institution. However, they can be the portrayal of situations found in everyday life."
 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is one of the most regarded novels in modern ages and the film starring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher was an award-winning smash in 1975. Fletcher’s portrayal of Nurse Ratched was defined as a Top Ten Villain of All Time by the American Film Institute.

The stage adaptation by Dale Wasserman is based on the original novel by Ken Kesey so Naiad’s version of the play is closer to the novel than the movie script. "I think fans of both the book and movie will enjoy this production", says actress Candice Moore who plays Nurse Ratched.  “The great thing about theatre is that it’s never the same thing twice. So fans of the story can enjoy seeing something they love interpreted in a new way.”

 

For those of you who don’t know the story it’s about Randle McMurphy who is found guilty of gambling and rape and contrives to serve a short sentence in an airy mental institution rather than in a prison. This, he learns, is a mistake. He clashes with the head nurse as he leads others out of introversion and revolt. For his offenses, the head nurse has him submitted to shock treatment...

 

American born actor, Ben Margalith is playing the tragic role of Billy Bibbit. Billy is a character with a speech impediment; Margalith worked hard at getting the character’s stutter and anxiety portrayed in a realistic and sympathetic manner. “Even his name is impossible for a person with a stutter... It’s been a real challenge to play a character like him. I’ve really enjoyed working on a role like this... He goes through these moments of joy and sadness in a short amount of time, so it takes a lot of range,” says Ben. 

 

And what does Candice Moore make of Nurse Ratched?  “She’s not a villain in her mind. She’s just a woman doing her best to do a job.”

 

You can check out a video trailer for the production on Vimeo by clicking this link. The only footage we see of Candice is her feet and hands in the video and we are already chilled… It’s a fantastic trailer! The cinematography and editing was done by Joseph Angelakis.

Genovese describes rehearsals for this play as intense. This is the largest cast she has ever worked with and she was up for the challenge of bringing the craziness of the mental institution to life. “The rehearsal process has started over the summer so of course it has been tough combining a schedule with sixteen cast members on board… Conversations are also happening during the rehearsals to discuss one’s own character decisions or reactions to another character's actions… This show is "mental" and so lots of things are meant to be read with body language and literally "energy" tense in space… Each character has a back story and relates very differently to all around him. In time these connections change, climax, degenerate. So in each and every scene in the script, a lot of "psychological interior journeys" have to go on beyond the main storyline.”

 

Along with her big cast, Lara wanted to make sure to mention her hard working production team and admin staff especially, Namrata Bindra, Lisa Frain and Naomi Harvey. "They've participated during the process more intensely... because of the nature of their roles in the show. They started coming to rehearsals since the early stages of it." One can never underestimate the power of an amazing team behind the scenes.

 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is playing October 9th through 12th at the HK Rep Black Box in Sheung Wan. This show is being presented by Naiad Productions in collaboration with Shift and Co Presented by HKRep. They have 8pm showtimes and 3pm matinees on weekends. Tickets are 260HKD with additional discounts for students, HK Rep members, persons with disabilities and seniors. Tickets are available through URBTIX. For audience members who want to help the production out but are unable to attend or want to do more to get involved there’s the Indiegogo campaign for the show. Audience members can donate to Cuckoo's Nest and get special rewards, like drinks at the after party and "meet and greets" with the cast.

 

For more information about this production, click here.

 

*Photo credit Lara Genovese


Comments

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    26 September 2017

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