<.... extracted from MUSE magazine 2008 Feb>

This March, director 李中全 (Gabriel Lee) is going to put this story on-stage at the Hong Kong Arts Festival, and my favourite actress, 蘇玉華 (Louisa So Yuk-Wa), is going to play the obnoxious Evelyn.

When I was assigned to write about this play, the first thing that popped into my mind was how would such a pleasant lady turn herself into a monster? As far as I remember, So Yuk-Wa has rarely been involved in bed scenes, which this play has aplenty. How will she cope with that? Above all, why did Lee want to bring this controversial play to Hong Kong in the first place?

...

"It's hard to find another play with the lead actress so dominant," Lee said. "And I've always wanted to work with So Yuk-Wa."

Lee and So Yuk-Wa were classmates at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA). Awed by her beauty and even more by her talent, Lee was always determined to work with her at some point.

"This script suits her a lot," he said. "Rachel Weisz said the role of Evelyn was very challenging since she has to 'hold a secret'. I guess this should be a good performing experience for So Yuk-Wa, who normally plays the role of a faithful girlfriend or a good daughter."

The Shape of Things is a controversial story, for it contains plenty of sex scenes and explicit language. But Lee said he is not worried about how Hong Kong audiences will react to his different voices and the bed scenes are a truly necessary part of the plot and should not be treated as gimmicks.

After finishing the first draft around May, 莊梅岩 (Cancer Chong, the translator) joined Lee in casting. The four actors/actresses - So Yuk-Wa, 葉榮煌 (Guthrie Yip, who plays the role of Adam), 高皓正 (Zac Kao), 朱仲暐 (Ruby Chu) - make up a "dream team", according to Chong.

SO YUK-WA

As producer, the HKAF should be involved in all aspects of the play, from choosing the actors to lining up the production team. But in the past, this job has been relegated to a contractor. This year, however, the HKAF has been directly involved in more aspects of production. So Yuk-Wa was Lee's one and only choice of lead actress, and after discussing with 蘇國雲 (So Kwok-Wan, Art Festival's program manager), Lee called So Yuk-Wa to see if she was interested.

"Gabriel has always wanted to work with me," So Yuk-Wa told me in her usual pleasant voice. “After reading the script, I decided that I would do it."

After finishing 《小男人周記》(Kiss Me Goodbye) with 鄭丹瑞 (Lawrence Cheng) in December, she was finally free to prepare for The Shape of Things.

So Yuk-Wa said the script was totally brilliant and very close to real life. In particular, she was fascinated by her role as Evelyn, and realized that if she doesn't do it now, she would soon be too old to play a college student.

So Kwok-wan told me, "I must say that So Yuk-Wa is a very good actress, and this play can take her to another level," he said.

In the past, she has often been involved in more classical plays, such as 新傾城之戀 (Love in a Fallen City) and 暗戀桃花源 (Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land).

I asked So Yuk-Wa if she is worried that the role of Evelyn may affect her image. "I don't really think I have a fixed image. In fact, I have played some really bossy roles in the past. The audience may anticipate my interpretation of Evelyn, and I myself anticipate it too," she said.

Under LaBute's pen, Evelyn was created to be rather abominable and bossy. The way she attempts to change her lover is really quite annoying. "I don't think she was supposed to be as evil as she was portrayed in the movie. You might accuse her of taking advantage of Adam, but maybe deep inside she loved him too," So Yuk-Wa explained.

What about the sex and the intimacy, I asked. "Aiya, the problem is that we are too conservative. It's time for us to open our eyes," she answered. "The first thing I should do is to keep fit," she chuckled. "Or else I won't look good in tank tops and shorts,"

Another challenge was to get close to her three colleagues, Guthrie Yip, Zac Kao and Ruby Chu. In the play, the four are really good friends, and So Yuk-Wa thinks it is necessary to develop an intimate relationship with the three actors, with whom she has never worked before.

"We will probably go camping, hiking or play badminton together," she said. "It's like traveling back to my college days and I'm extremely excited."

When it came to choosing the other three actors, it was So Yuk-Wa who came up with the idea of having an open audition. This was one of the few public castings in Hong Kong history, and it drew a lot of interest. "The people were simply enthusiastic. Their CVs were very detailed, full of character descriptions," So Kwok-Wan said.

On May 22, the potential candidates came for a casting workshop. Among them was the tall and slim Guthrie Yip, a 20-something recent graduate from the HKAPA. "In fact I was very relaxed back then. As we rarely have public casting in Hong Kong, it was more of a practice experience for me," Yip told me.

"The things was, they gave me the wrong script beforehand," Yip explained, adding that he had no idea what the whole play was about at that time. Lee added, "Poor Guthrie, he went to the studio three or four times and acted almost half of the play."

Meanwhile, So Yuk-Wa, who had to repeat the same line over and over again to different candidates during the audition, recalled, "Some candidates were very serious. One actually brought props along with him. I was so touched"

After traveling in and out the audition room, Yip felt like 被耍o左一輪咁 (loosely translated as "he was being pushed around". While saying this, he waved his arms as if he was doing tai-chi.). At the end of the day, he sighed with relief, "Gosh it's finally over."

The months between May and July saw two more rounds of auditions, and the final round took place in Lee's home. "I think I acted quite naturally, as the script required," Yip recalled.

One day in July, Yip was traveling on the mainland. He received a call from the director and the first words from Lee were, "I'm really sorry but…" Yip's heart dropped but Lee continued, "… I've contacted you so late. I am calling to say that you have been chosen."

"I acted as if I was extremely calm, but once I hung up the phone, I just couldn't help going crazy," Yip recalled, still very excited and almost jumping.

Both Lee and So Yuk-Wa agreed that it was Yip's slight shyness that made him stand out. "In him I felt some yearning for love, which is a very romantic thing for the director," Lee said.

So Yuk-Wa added that it was their chemistry that sealed the choice. "I could feel that he likes me a lot, and that was a very important quality that Adam should have for Evelyn," she said.

When asked if he's really a shy person, Yip gave a silly laugh and shook his head. "When I came for the audition, I didn't know So Yuk-Wa was there. I really admire her a lot and maybe because of that, seeing her reminds me of my puppy love years," he said.

The Shape of Things is also the first play in which Yip plays a shy and somewhat introverted character. His former roles were mostly mean and arrogant men, more like Adam's best friend Philip. But he told me that back in secondary school he was rather like Adam. "I was very shy and did not dare to reveal my love for a girl. Even after she learned of it, I didn't know what action to take," he said.

With the exception of Ruby Chu, this is also the first time that Yip has worked with the rest of the crew. "Acting with So Yuk-Wa alone is already a big challenge. This is my first major role in a large scale production," Yip said, looking relaxed in his tracksuit jacket and jeans as we sat by a large window at the HKAPA.

"People keep asking me if the promo photo with me and So Yuk-Wa on a bed was done through Photoshop," he laughed.

While he agreed with Evelyn's opinion that "art is not bound by anything", he accused her of hurting Adam too much and feels that her actions are "morally cruel".

Yip also agreed that a controversial play like The Shape of Things is necessary in Hong Kong. "If everyone acts because they want the audience's acceptance, probably the only kind of play we will have is comedy."

Yip promised to get his sister a ticket for The Shape of Things, but to his surprise, all the tickets were sold out by the time he reached the box office. "It's very encouraging, but no matter what the sale are, I still need to do the job well. So come and watch me turn from a frog to Prince Charming."

The Shape of Things will be performed March 7-11, 13-17 at the Studio Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre.