PIP Theatre’s Tyson Chak and Harriet Yeung bring a dose of colour to the stage in their delectable new comedy, writes Ben Sin.

There’s a general consensus among local performing art circles: when it comes to stage actors, there’s more supply than demand. Talk to local theatre actors and they’ll most likely tell you typical “hustling stories” – how they had to work multiple side jobs, skip meals, etc. Only a select few get the opportunity to be in a troupe, while the rest of the stage acting population – which increases annually with HKAPA gradutes – scrap for freelance gigs. They’ll also tell you how these gigs don’t pay particularly well, and how rehearsal space conditions could be better. And as someone who’s visited his share of these studios, I have to agree.

And so, meeting Tyson Chak Hoi-tai and Harriet Yeung Sze-man – the two rising stars of what is perhaps Hong Kong’s most popular theatre group, PIP Theatre – at the company’s lavish office (bright, colourful walls, high ceiling, stylish and spacious design) was a break from the norm. With regular work alongside Jim Chim Sui-man, the group’s founder and artistic director and one of Hong Kong’s most popular entertainment personalities, and a level of internet fame rarely bestowed on stage actors (clips of the duo’s performance in PIP’s last play, the office-politics satire MicroSex Office, have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube), these two seem to have it made.

But both 34-year-olds downplay what they’ve achieved and say there’s more to accomplish. Surprising, considering the pair went through tough times to get to their current spot. Yeung, who graduated from HKAPA in 1999, says it took her many years of struggling as a freelance performer – at one point even applying for a second job as a waitress at a cha chaan teng – before finally making it to PIP Theatre in 2006. Chak, also a graduate of HKAPA, says early in his career he struggled to pay rent and buy food because freelancing jobs were so few and far between. Even later, when he got steady work, he felt under-utilised performing children’s plays. It wasn’t until last year that he caught his big break, doing, in his words, “more mature work” (MicroSex Office).

So now, as they’re about to headline what will surely be sold-out performances of their new show, When Sushi met Wasabi, don’t they believe they’ve made it as stage performers in Hong Kong? “What Jim has taught us is that we have to look at things on a much bigger scope,” says Chak. “Sure, doing plays in Hong Kong is great, but Jim is a visionary who has these goals that many others in the industry may not agree with. We are looking at shows in the Mainland, or even overseas.”

Yeung says Chim’s ambitions go beyond just fame. “Yes, I can say at this point people in Hong Kong know who I am,” she says. “But through Chim, I have learned to keep challenging myself, to be a total actor and a total performer.”

A “total performer”, according to Yeung, is one who is familiar with every role on stage as well as behind the scenes. “I used to think that to be a good stage actor, I just needed to know my role,” she says. “But, no, Jim has made me realise that I need to know what goes on in the production and also know in-depth what every other role is thinking.”

Working on When Sushi meets Wasabi, these two will get the chance to hone their skills. “It’s a series of short love stories that can interlink or work separately,” explains Chak. Much like many of PIP’s productions, the play takes on a perspective that is uniquely Hong Kong’s. “The reason food is such a big element of the stories is because the eating culture is such a big part of our city,” says Yeung. Chak adds that the Cantonese word for “eat” can have so many meanings: work, sex, desire. “Eating is a very Hong Kong thing,” he says.

Everything, from the look of the promotional poster, with Chak sporting an afro and dressed in all-green attire, to the title of the play, suggests When Sushi Meets Wasabi will be another over-the-top hilarious affair, much like the duo’s star-making performances
in MicroSex Office. But the two are, of course, tackling new challenges this time around. “One of the new elements of this play is we will not only address the audience directly, we’ll even pull one or two on stage to be part of the play,” says Chak. “This level of audience interaction is something we’ve never done before, and it is part of what we have to work on to be complete performers.”

And with Chak’s one-man show (based on the popular water-delivery man he portrayed in MicroSex Office) and Yeung’s book (based on a middle-aged woman’s journal) lined up for later this year, these two are not likely to slow down anytime soon. “Jim has a motto,” says Yeung. “‘Increase one’s possibility’, and that’s what we need to do.”

When Sushi Meets Wasabi is performed in Cantonese at Arts Centre’s Shouson Theatre from Thu 22 to Aug 8. Tickets: 2734 9009;
www.urbtix.hk.