Review-Three Little Men-Brave Heart Theatre
14-12-14
By: Olivia Rosenman
What advice would you give to the twenty something year old you? What questions would you ask of yourself at the end of your life?
In Wing Man Lam’s Three Little Men, one character is featured three ways. A naïve and impressionable twenty-four year old is full of questions about what lies ahead, and scathing of his future faults. A gristly and greedy forty-four year old seethes at his unfaithful wife, despite the fact he has been disloyal throughout their marriage. A dying and then dead sixty-four year old is at peace with the sorry state he faces at the end of his life. The three men sit together to consume the fine wine spoils of their successful, albeit somewhat dishonest, career and talk through their life.
A series of deep and, at times, uncomfortable conversations are punctuated by a quirky soundtrack spanning retro rock and roll to pop. The Beatles are lined up with Bowie, Baha and the Black Eyed Peas, to name but a few. It’s unexpected and it works.
Each of the three actors plays their part convincingly, despite a couple of momentary slips of memory. As the play progressed, so did their performance. Of note, Andy Chworowsky had several ‘hit the nail on the head’ moments.
The set is simple although it could be improved by removing some unnecessary clutter, which distracts from what we’re really interested in, the meat of the conversations. The fake red wine was too light in colour (more Ribena?) and the dummy corpse was a little lumpy.
Brave Heart Theatre’s production is an adaptation of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women, the play that won him his third Pulitzer as well as a handful of other drama prizes. This is the third and final play in Brave Heart’s inaugural season. The company is doing something new in Hong Kong’s theatre scene, and hopefully there will be more. Hour-long shows play twice nightly, either at the conveniently pre-dinner time of seven o’clock or as a digestivo at 9pm. Tickets are reasonably priced, especially when you consider there is free and limitless beer. The venue is relaxed and comfortable. The atmosphere is warm and engaging, with the actors and the director available to chat or be asked questions of before and after the show.
It is apparent that director Tom Hope has worked in close collaboration with the playwright, as the action and dialogue flows and feels quite natural. Three Little Men is a casual and enjoyable night out at the theatre, a refreshing break from the overwrought and overpriced mainstream Hong Kong shows.
Three Little Men is playing through December 19th. For more information, click here.
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