Veteran actor-directors Lee Chun-chow and Edmond Lo talk to Ben Sin about their highly anticipated reunion production, Sylvia.

Sitting on a couch at their studio in To Kwa Wan, veteran stage actors Lee Chun-chow and Edmond Lo Chi-sun are reminiscing about old times. These two, along with fellow Chung Ying Theatre alumni Kearen Pang, are working together again for the first time in years. “It’s sort of like a reunion for us,” explains Lee, who, with over 20 years of experience and a plethora of Hong Kong Drama Awards, is the senior of the group. “This is us getting back together, post-Chung Ying, to see if we can create sparks.”

As if working together again after years isn’t enough cause for nostalgia, the play they’re preparing for, Sylvia, is one they did nine years ago. The roles are flipped this time, though. “Last time, I was the male lead and he was the director,” explains Lo, pointing at Lee. “This time, he’s the male lead and I’m directing.” Actually, Lee and Lo are co-directors of the 2010 adaptation of the 1995 A. R. Gurney off-Broadway play, which tells the story of the twists and turns in a married couple’s life when a dog comes into play.

According to Lee, the play has taken on new meaning the second time around. “Time has made us more sentimental,” he says. “We focused more on the comedic aspects nine years ago, this time we’re focusing more on the drama and the emotions.”

Lo, on the other hand, pins the change in perspective down to being a dog owner. “This time around, in certain scenes, I can almost picture what my own dog would do, and I project its emotion onto the play.” The fact that Sylvia is a talking dog certainly helps. “The story to me is really about the man and the dog,” he adds. “There aren’t many plays that centre on a dog, especially a talking one at that.”

Lee has another take. “I think the play is a story about relationships in general,” he says. In the story, Sylvia is taken home by the husband and immediately feels the wrath of her disapproving wife, and this conflict is a crucial element of the play, Lee explains.

Both Lee and Lo believe Sylvia’s emotional complexity (Lo even bills this as a love triangle between man, woman and dog) is what led Pang, who both produces and acts here, to stage this play again. The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts graduate, who’s forged a highly successful career since leaving Chung Ying (she started her own production company in 2005, and has since created three consistently sold-out one-actor plays), is a perfectionist of the highest order. The cast rehearse six hours a day, despite their veteran status. Each cast member has won at least one Hong Kong Drama Acting awards, and they know this play well.

With Pang – a passionate dog lover whose golden retriever, Disa, is enjoying an increasingly high profile – in the role of Sylvia, the audience can expect a vocal and lively performance. “I don’t want to speak on her behalf,” says Lee. “But I really think when she did this play many years ago it really touched her.”

Sylvia is performed in Cantonese at Arts Centre’s Shouson Theatre from Thu 15 to Sun 18. Tickets: 2734 9009; www.urbtix.hk.