almost famous: Taurus Wah Man-wai

by P.Ramakrishnan.

"The balcony scene of Romeo And Juliet held over a swimming pool where Romeo, in the water, has to look up to Juliet - high up on a diving board. Now that's a scene!" At the risk of offending every traditionalist, scholar or student, that's one of 38-year-old scenographer Taurus Wah Man-wai's visions for Shakespeare's classic play. Not that he has any intention of realising it: it is just something that plays on his mind as he works on any one of the many dance/musical/operatic dramas that are keeping him busy till the end of next year.

"When I see something on stage that's straight out of a book, exactly as written with no changes or innovation, to me, a scenographer has failed," Wah says. "In the United States, a long time ago, I saw an alternative version of Carmen, well, it was Car Man, set in a garage. Didn't like the dances, the songs, the music or anything - but the concept was good. At least it's different."

So what does a scenographer do? "Well, everything. Using the space available on stage, everything that's visible has to be placed by a scenographer. I've created costumes, worked on the lighting, props, decor, picked artists, overseen the make-up - all of it."

Wah is the man behind, above and below some of the most innovative theatrical pieces staged in Hong Kong and Europe, including the Hong Kong Dance Company's Yellow River, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre's Songs Of Wanderers, and his own company Open Daily's Everything that Is Unimportant Falls Away - Arvo Part.

"I created Open Daily, which is an independent production house, because often I am restricted by budgets and other people's visions and have to mend and bend my way across to suit others. Now I can create what I want and get the people I need. Not that I don't have budget issues to deal with. Sometimes I have to pick a second choice, a third, even a fourth."

A former dancer who trained with renowned ballet teacher Joan Campbell in Hong Kong during his teens, Wah also trained and worked as an accoutant before his career changed in leaps and bounds. "I was interested in theatre, opera, the visual arts," he says. "Initially, I didn't get much encouragement from my parents, who wanted me to do something practical, to become a professional. So I did my accounting and worked in London for a year or so. I came back to Hong Kong to work in the administrative department for the Cultural Centre when it opened in the late 80s. At that time it was great - I got to meet Prince Charles, Princess Diana, which was impossible in Britain. To work with all the great international artists such as Cellist Yo-Yo Ma was wonderful."

He later met Willie Tsao Sing-yuen, of the City Contemporary Dance Company [CCDC] and subsequently became the troupe's manager. One of the founding members and resident choreographer of CCDC, Helen Lai, saw Wah's work in various departments and out of the blue asked him to create costumes for a show.

"It was extraordinary. I can't sew or stitch but I could draw and design. So I did and one thing led to another. Word got around and I worked on many shows."

His love of research, however, prompted him to postgraduate studies abroad. In 1995, he won a fellowship from the British Council and the Anglo-Hong Kong trust that led him to a master of arts in scenography at the university of Art and Design in Helsinki, Finland. Now, he is studying for a PhD in the drama department at the University of London's Goldsmith's College. His doctoral thesis is on China's Kun Opera.

His studies, however, have not stopped him from working. He is collaborating with Timmy Yip, the Oscar-winning art/set director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, on "a grand Chinese musical along the commercial lines of an Andrew Lloyd Webber production" that will be staged tentatively next year.

He is also busy with Fetish: Stories, a physical theatre performance directed by British choreographer Robert Tannion and produced by Wah that is scheduled to play on April 26-27 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, although the dates have yet to be confirmed. With eight local dancers, the dance drama will be jaw-dropper, Wah declares. "We promise the audience an exciting experience such as they've never had before in Hong Kong theatre."