Richard III
Posted:
6 Jul 2009
Director Sam Lam and TV actor Bowie Lam talk about their upcoming production of Richard III. By Samantha Leese
Shakespeare thought, “An honest tale speeds best if plainly told”. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to cast a famous TV actor in your play either. We’re in the Sheung Wan Civic Centre’s 8th floor Rehearsal Room, where soap opera star Bowie Lam has just finished rehearsing a scene from the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre’s upcoming performance of Richard III. He plays the unscrupulous Duke of Buckingham to theatre veteran Chung King-fai’s disturbed sovereign.
The historical play – arguably the greatest of its genre – begins during the peaceful reign of Edward IV, a member of the House of York who has wrested the monarchy from the House of Lancaster after a long and turbulent civil war. Richard is the new king’s younger brother – deformed, bitter and craving power. With the help of Buckingham, his right-hand man, Richard sets out on an ugly mission to usurp the throne, promising to kill anyone who gets in his way.
There’s human drama in spades, but soap opera this is not. Nor is it like the period dramas Bowie may be used to playing on TV. Even in Cantonese and with the use of multimedia, Richard III is, unavoidably, Shakespeare. And it’s hard going.
Bowie is not used to stage work and, though Sam insists on his energy and willingness to learn, the actor is exhausted. “In TV and film, you memorise the line, you say it, and you throw it out,” he reveals, “We try to avoid retakes. On stage, you have to endure the repeat that happens every night.”
While it is hardly unusual for screen actors to cross over to the stage, this is an odd decision for the Hong Kong Rep, a group who usually draws from their stable of seasoned Cantonese theatre actors. Dozens of the 40-strong cast are Rep actors, but it seems this was not a play in which to hold back on talent.
Says director Sam Lam of his take on the masterpiece: “There’s a [delicate] psychological thread in Richard III that relies on skilful actors. It’d be easy to bring on the blood and kill, kill, kill, but I don’t want it to be that way. The audience must be able to see why he’s making these choices, to understand why Richard is doing the things that he does.”
To this end, Sam has also axed all lines to do with witchcraft, and the curse on Richard III that was used in part to explain his evil. It is a move that, though apparently minor, has helped to propel the 17th-century work along a distinctly modern pulse. Without the distraction of a subplot of sorcery, today’s audiences will be able to read the play for the complex and deeply human psychological thriller that it is.
“We’ve made it so modern, seriously,” insists Bowie, “I really don’t want people to think Shakespeare is outdated and boring.” The cast, however, will perform in Elizabethan costume and speak in elegant Cantonese that “modern people wouldn’t normally use”. Because of this, the production relies on the modernity coming through in the characters.
While Sam gamely contends that “anywhere, anytime, people are ready for Shakespeare”, Bowie has casually revealed that “all of [his] fans” are attending the performance (some even have tickets to more than one show). If one of the perks of his role as Buckingham is, as the actor says, to “get people who usually just sit in front of the TV into the theatre”, do they worry Richard III may be a bit much for a first-time theatre experience?
“Hong Kong audiences are waiting for great [Western] plays to be shown to them in Cantonese,” replies Sam. “When I did the Tempest at the APA, we had a full house. And [last September, Reza’s] Art sold out.” What does it take to fill a theatre for Shakespeare? It’s all in the treatment, assures the director. The thing is to keep it relatable despite barriers like costume and language. And, sure, the addition of a little star power never hurts.
Additional Reporting by Edmund Lee.
Richard III plays at the Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre, Saturday 11- Tuesday 21.
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