Peta Lily

Peta Lily and P Ramakrishnan

One of my fav stage and theatre actresses, directors, writers... the multi-hyphenate Peta Lily.

Thrilled to catch up with her over brunch at Classified down Hollywood Road.

She's brilliant, funny and fun - and above all, a great interview. We spoke for hours and I didn't want our chat to end - sadly, she had a flight back to London the same day so we bid adieu far too soon.

almost famous: Taurus Wah Man-wai: Interview with Hong Kong Scenographer

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."

Much Ado about the Meaning of Nothing: Indian Play to be Staged in Hong Kong: Interview with Lillete Dubey

Martial arts meets philosophy in Lillete Dubey's play about the life of Bodidharma, writes P.Ramakrishnan.

For many people, Lillete Dubey is the international face of Indian cinema, thanks to Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding and Vanity Fair.

A noted wit off stage and on, her appearances in films, including some memorable Bollywood roles, have given her international recognition.

"Someone mentioned that I'm in every other film and I was quite taken aback," Dubey says. "I've done about six or seven Hindi and three English films in the last two years. How is that every other film?

"It just so happens that the movies were high-profile stuff. They weren't all box-office hits, but the independent films like My Brother Nikhil [about Aids] and Morning Raga [about the death of a classical singer's son] made a lot of news. I just can't be part of any old rubbish."

Dubey has long been associated with some of the best plays from India, including Dance Like a Man, which she directed and acted in.

In Mumbai, as her driver races through the rain to drop her at a movie set ("guest appearance darling, I can't be the lead at this stage"), Dubey is enthusiastic about taking her latest English play, Zen Katha, outside India - starting in Hong Kong this weekend.

"Theatre is my true love," she says. "I'll never leave it and I'm so excited about bringing the play to Hong Kong. Thematically, so much of it is relevant in that part of the world. the story was told to me by writer Pratap Sharma, I was keen to direct this on stage."

Zen Katha traces the story of Dharma, a Pallava Indian prince, recounting his journey from India to the Chinese court in 525AD. Through his tumultuous adventures, including an encounter with Emperor Wu Ti, the peace-loving Brahmin prince-turned-monk founded martial arts and the philosophy of Zen at a Shaolin monastery.

"I was fascinated because its part of our historical legacy," Dubey says. "The founder of Zen and martial arts - all the kung fu, tai chi and everything - can be traced to Maha Malappuram, which literally translates as the city of great wrestlers. It's a part of Indian history that little is known about.

"Bodidharma was originally known as Dharma. When he was prematurely born he was sentenced to death. Born weak, blue in the face, he was thought to be a disgrace by his father, the king who wanted only fighters as sons.

"But a Hindu priest begged the king to hand over the child to him. The priest taught pranaya, yogic breathing skills, and taught him kallaripayattu, a martial art, to gain strength.

"This first part of his life in India, before he headed off to Canton, fell into place as the first act of the play. He left through the Himalayas to learn martial arts that would enable him to fight faster than breath, faster than thought."

The second act unfolds across the borders as Dharma attempts to better himself. "It reveals what happened after he met Emperor Wu, who was surrounded in court by yes-men and sycophants," says Dubey. "The ruler was an extremely pious man, and the monk annoyed him terribly. The king wanted to know how he'd be rewarded in the after life. The monk said nothing. His answer to everything was nothing. The concept of nothingness, Zen, infuriated the king and the monk had to flee."

Writing and research took the theatre production team that Dubey founded in 1991 years. "The very word Zen is derived from Dhyaan - meditation, sharp focus. When you're fighting or mediating, there must be focus."

The multicultural play posed multiple challenges, from casting to tightening the script while preserving the epic nature of the story. "It's a very visual production," Dubey says. "So, my actors had to learn martial arts for months - but just the basics."

Will Hong Kong audiences be treated to high-level martial arts? "They perform some," she says. "But they're actors who play martial artists. The audience isn't going to see the fireworks they might be accustomed to. But our sensei, who taught them the basics, wasn't shy in his praise."

Sunday, September 25, 2005