3.12.2021
The Dunce Attends a Birthday Party
Playwright: Yuen Siu-fai
This was a signature piece in the filmography of acclaimed comedian actor, Leung Sing-por, lovingly referred to as “Uncle Poh”. It was adapted into a Cantonese Opera by the troupe members of the troupe known as “Chiu Fai Twelve”, led by renowned Cantonese Opera actor Yuen Siu-fai. The dunce in the play is pitiful yet lovable. It can make the audience laugh and cry with its touching and at times funny storyline.
The ageing Dai is in poor health. His eldest and second daughters, together with their husbands, intend to seize the old man’s wealth, so they contrive to marry their youngest sister off. Third Sister learns from her teacher that Amao, her betrothed, is a dunce who became doltish after an illness. She nevertheless goes ahead with the wedding. Despite Amao being the butt of jokes and ridicule, his wife loves him for his guilelessness. On seeing Third Sister undertake embroidery work to earn housekeeping money, Amao too engages in small trading activities to supplement their household income. However, he gets bullied time and again, and his business efforts ends in failure. Amao then takes on the role of caretaker at the local morgue, but is scared almost senseless after encountering ghosts there. On his father-in-law’s birthday, he follows the directions from his wife written on toilet paper to go to where the old man’s birthday party is being held. On the way, Amao has to go to toilet when nature calls, and uses up some of the toilet paper. This causes him to arrive at wrong houses where a wedding and a funeral are respectively taking place. Amao is bitterly scolded for his mistake. At the birthday celebrations, Amao inappropriately recites words of condolences instead of felicitations to his father-in-law. This earns Amao a good beating from the husbands of his two sisters-in-law and accidentally bumps his head. Surprising, he regains his intelligence because of it. Old man Dai decides to divide up his riches by testing the scholarship of his three sons-in-law. Now with his recovered intelligence, Amao manages to see justice done for his wife. Third Sister’s brothers-in-law mend their ways and the entire family reconciles their differences.
Yuen Siu-fai as Liu Amao
Wan Fai-yin as Dai Sanjie (Third Sister)
Chan Hung-chun as He Gongshi
Liu Kwok-sum as Tutor
Wan Yuk-yu as Mr Dai, father of the sisters
Chan ka-ming as Dai Dajie (First Sister)
Siu Wing-yee as Dai Erjie (Second Sister)
28.12.2021
The Lioness Roars
Playwright: Tong Tik-sang
The scene of "kneeling by the pond" says it all on the philandering yet henpecked side of men. This is considered by many to be one of the signature stage productions of the legendary duo on the Cantonese Opera scene of Hong Kong, Yam Kim-fai and Pak Suet-sin; but in fact the duo only starred in the film version. The actual stage production was premiered by Chan Kam-tong and Ng Kwan-lai.
Assistant Minister Chen Jichang is a close friend of scholar Su Dongpo. He is also a hopeless flirt while his wife Liu Yu’e has an exceptionally jealous nature. During the Lantern Festival, the three of them attend a banquet held by the Song Emperor for his officials. At the festivities, Yu’e beat both Jichang and Dongpo in the game of lantern riddles, for which the emperor awards her the prize of a jade token. Yu’e in turn gifts the token to her husband to show her love for him. Meanwhile, resenting her superior talent, Dongpo ridicules her. Yu’e retaliates by blaming Dongpo for leading her husband astray, and implores the emperor to punish Dongpo. The empress sides with Yu’e, so the emperor, in not wanting to displease the empress, fines Dongpo one month’s salary. For this, Dongpo bears her a deep grudge. It so happens that his cousin Qincao comes to his house to seek refuge, as she has had the misfortune of being selected as a candidate to join the emperor’s harem. A devious idea forms in Dongpo’s head: he can matchmake Qincao and Jichang, so Yu’e can no longer monopolise her husband’s affection. The following day, Dongpo sends a letter to invite Jichang to view plum blossoms, but Yu’e does not want her husband to go. Jichang solemnly swears that he will not do anything unfaithful to her. To avoid making him lose face, Yu’e finally agrees to let him go. When Jichang enjoys taking a stroll in the snow on Nanshan, he meets Qincao and is totally captivated. They quickly fall in love and Jichang presents Qincao with the jade token his wife gave him. Later when Yu’e finds out, she is livid. She beats Jichang and makes him kneel. Dongpo instigates Jichang to divorce his wife, whereupon Yu’e brings the case to the Ministry of Justice. Although the presiding judge Gui Yushu is her uncle, he is also henpecked and therefore empathises with Jichang. Yushu and Jichang seek an audience with the emperor at the palace to obtain his ruling. The emperor decides to stand up for Jichang and orders Yu’e to let Jichang take Qincao as his concubine. Yu’e refuses to take that order, so much so that she would take arsenic rather than acquiesce…
Yuen Siu-fai as Chen Jichang
Wan Fai-yin as Liu Yu’e, Chen’s wife
Chan Hung-chun as Liu Xiang (former) / Gui Yushu, presiding judge and husband of Yu’e’s aunt (later)
Liu Kwok-sum as Lady Gui
Ho Wai-ling as Su Dongpo
Chan ka-ming as Su Qincao, cousin of Su Dongpo
Kwok Chun-sing as Emperor of Song
Siu Wing-yee as Empress of Song
4.1.2022
The Daughter of the Horse Trader
Playwright: Tong Tik-sang
This was one of the signature plays of Yuen Siu-fai and Wan Fai-yin and their performance showed exceptional chemistry. Yuen’s interpretation of his character was after the style of Yu Zhenfei, a leading light of Peking Opera and Kunju fame. Zhao Chong is the husband of Li Guizhi, the female protagonist. He is a very green officer, new to his post and so jittery and wary in everything he does. He loves his newly wedded wife, so he would not blame her for causing him trouble. The play describes the loving relationship between the young couple vividly, and the interpretation by Yuen and Wan shows great rapport.
After his wife’s untimely death, Li Qi is left with two children: a son Baotong and a daughter Guizhi. Concerned that the siblings may be abused by their stepmother Sanchun and her adulterous accomplice Tian Wang, the maidservant Chunhua persuades Baotong and Guizhi to separately run away from home. When Li Qi returns after his business trip to trade horses, he starts asking questions about the missing children. Fearful that harm may come to Li Qi, Chunhua hangs herself. Sanchun seizes the opportunity to frame Li Qi for attempted rape of Chunhua, which has led to her suicide. Sanchun further bribes the court officials to treat Li Qi’s case as a capital crime. After leaving home, Guizhi marries Zhao Chong, who passes the imperial exams and is appointed the magistrate of Baocheng County. Guizhi’s sister-in-law Lianzhu hears someone crying in the jailhouse. Upon further investigation, the two ladies discover that Li Qi has been wrongfully imprisoned there. Guizhi asks Zhao Chong to petition an appeal. When the Imperial Inspector’s patrol arrives at Baocheng, Guizhi disguises herself as a man and highlights her father’s case to the inspector’s attention. It turns out the inspector is none other than her brother Baotong. Lianzhu devises a ruse to impersonate Chunhua’s ghost in order to bring the adulterous pair of Sanchun and Tian Wang to justice.
Yuen Siu-fai as Zhao Chong
Wan Fai-yin as Li Guizhi, Li Qi’s daughter and later Zhao’s wife
Chan Hung-chun as Li Qi
Lai Yiu-wai as Li Baotong, Li Qi’s son
Chan ka-ming as Chunhua, a maid servant in the Li’s household (former)/ Zhao Lianzhu, Zhao Chong’s sister (later)
Wan Yuk-yu as Hu Jing
Siu Wing-yee as Yang Sanchun, second wife of Li Qi
Kwok Chun-sing as Tian Wang, lover of Yang Sanchun
5.1.2022
Three Glimpses of the Princess
Script Adated by: Yuen Siu-fai
The film adaptation of the play was Liu Jingding – the Female General, starring young icons Chan Po-chu and Josephine Siu in the 1960s. Wan Fai-yin stood in for Josephine Siu as the female vocalist in the soundtrack. In appreciation of her outstanding singing, Lee Yuen-man gifted Wan with the screenplay he wrote. It was later adapted for the stage by Yuen Siu-fai, and the Cantonese Opera Three Glimpses of the Princess was born. It became one of Wan Fai-yin’s "trousseaux" as an opera actor.
In recognition of lady general Liu Jinding’s meritorious efforts in suppressing pirates, the emperor grants her the status of imperial sister, and decrees that the temple where Jinding is going to offer thanksgiving prayers be out of bounds to all others. On hearing the news, Feng Jiajin, a minister’s son, deliberately goes and hides in the temple to catch a glimpse of the princess. He falls in love with her at first sight, but a marriage is out of the question due to their disparate social stations. When Jiajin later learns that Jinding has taken ill, he disguises himself as a doctor to see her again. Jinding also falls in love with Jiajin and presents him with a pair of linked writing brushes as a token of love. Alas, Jinding’s father continues to oppose the match…
Yuen Siu-fai as Feng Jiajin
Wan Fai-yin as Liu Jinding
Chan Hung-chun as Liu Tianhua, a general and father of Jinding
Wan Yuk-yu as Feng Leishang, a court minister and father of Jiajin
Chan ka-ming as Qiaolian, the maid
Lai Yiu-wai as Prince Jiajing
Kwok Chun-sing as Bigui, page boy
The running time of the performance is approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes including an intermission of 15 minutes.
Information provided by the arts group
It's been around two years since the novel coronavirus hit Hong Kong. Who could have foreseen that it would stay, and stay this long? Online classes, working from home, group gathering regulation, border closures, testing, vaccination... all these measures have completely disrupted the daily life and routines of the people of Hong Kong, causing them to feel insecure and depressed, while a general gloom overhangs the community. Spurred by the intention of doing something positive for Hong Kong, we proposed to stage this series of light comedies. They may not be slapsticks that make you burst out laughing every other minute, but at least you would chuckle and smile when you see the blunders the Dunce makes in The Dunce Attends a Birthday Party, the sneaky tricks the hen-pecked but philandering husband plays when he has an affair in The Lioness Roars, the sweet quibble between a newly-wed couple in The Daughter of the Horse Trader, and the whimsical things man would do to get his girl in Three Glimpses of the Princess. These are comedies intended to chase away your blues and fuel you up to fight the pandemic out there as you leave the theatre! Fight on!
Artistic Director: Yuen Siu-fai
Executive Director: Barbara Tang
Percussion Leader: Ko Yun-kuen
Ensemble Leader: Ko Yun-hung
Stage Manager︰Wong Siu-fung
Costume & Props: Kam Yi Costumes Company
Lighting & Set: Kwong Hing Stage Scene Productions Company
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Tickets available from 3 Nov onwards at URBTIX outlets, on internet, mobile ticketing app and credit card telephone booking.
Half-price tickets available for senior citizens aged 60 and above, people with disabilities and the minder, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients. (Limited tickets for full-time students and CSSA recipients available on a first-come, first-served basis.)
Please visit www.urbtix.hk for details of opening hours of URBTIX outlets.
Smart Price
Save $8 per ticket for booking through the URBTIX website, mobile app or credit card telephone booking.
Credit Card Telephone Booking：2111 5999
Internet Booking：www.urbtix.hk
Programme Enquiries：2268 7325
Ticketing Enquiries：3761 6661
Credit Card Telephone Booking：2111 5999
Internet Booking：www.urbtix.hk
The presenter reserves the right to change the programme and substitute artists.
The programme does not represent the views of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
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Pre-performance Talk - Telephone Registration Only
starting from 10am on 16.11.2021 (Tue)
Pre-performance Talk
Date: 23.11.2021 (Tue)
Venue: AC2, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Time: 7:30pm
Speaker: Yuen Siu-fai, Ko Yun-kuen
Moderator: Barbara Tang
(In Cantonese)
Registration:
- Date & Time: from 10am on 16.11.2021 (Tue), till quota lasts. (Free admission. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.)
- Telephone: 2268 7267 (Mon-Fri: 10am-1pm, 2-5:30pm; except public holidays)
- Quota: Each person can reserve one seat for the talk. Name and contact number are required upon registration.
- Reserved seat(s) will be released if any registered person does not show up at the venue 10 minutes after the commencement of the talk.
03.12.2021 (Fri) 19:30
$380, $300, $220, $140
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