Review- The Wilderness- HKAPA
21-11-15
By: Cindy Kim
The Wilderness is the result of a collaborative effort by a huge team of HKAPA School of drama students, and what is first a family drama with hints of underlying tension then becomes a tragedy of consequence. Chou Hu, a wrongly imprisoned escapee returns to his homeland seeking revenge on the corrupt tyrant who put him there. When he discovers that his fiancée has been married off to his adopted brother, it sets the wheels of tragedy and revenge in motion.
So many elements of this play start unassumingly, only to manifest again in a darker form. The classic feud between mother in law and daughter in law is only funny up until the point where the true depths of their feelings are revealed; taking the audience on a terrible, foreboding ride.
Every character has some kind of darkness or conflict hiding within them. Even within the same character contradicting actions and personalities are present, such as depicted in Jin zi (as played by Wong Suet-ip) but it is due to the skill of the actress that this doesn’t come across as merely confused. Chou Hu (As played by Lai Chai-ming) is played fantastically as a troubled, conflicted character who inspires disgust and sympathy in the audience alike.
It was as much the technical aspects as it was the actor’s abilities which made this performance truly amazing. The lighting strikes a perfect balance between atmosphere and ease of viewing – the lights were just bright enough, and not eye-watering. Walls which looked solid and sturdy turned out to be thin shadow screens when light was shined from behind it, which were used to terribly dramatic effect.
A special mention to set and costume designer Wong Yat-kwan and set associate designer DD Chan Sze-nga, as this performance featured the most innovative stage layout I had seen so far - It was a multilayered stage segmented into three horizontal sections by screens and films, affording an unexpected level of literal depth to the performance. These layers were used effectively to indicate the subconscious as well. The stage is at first littered with trees stretching towards the ceiling, and the trees tilt from side to side to show change in time and physical distance travelled by the characters. What is almost magical at first then becomes eerie and threatening once blood has been shed and the tragedy has been revealed. Even within the interior of the house, glimpse of the dark forest – “The Wilderness” – can be seen from over the tall walls of the house.
As time progresses, there is an almost tangible sense of the terrible conclusion rising up to meet them, and I suspect that this eerie feeling will remain with me for a long time.
The Wilderness is playing at the HKAPA through Saturday. For more information, click here.
Comments
No comment at the moment.