华艺节 :: 狂揪夫妻

I watched Dionysus Contemporary Theatre's 'God of Carnage' 神戲劇場的《狂揪夫妻》totally for its lead actors Anthony Wong (黄秋生) and Louisa So (蘇玉華), and also because it's staged in Cantonese. Heeeeheeeheee. In the play's Hong Kong debut, Louisa's role was played by Sandra Ng (吳君如). If you occasionally watch Hong Kong dramas, Anthony and Louisa's last pairing was in TVB's Republican period epic 'Lord of Shanghai' 《梟雄》that concluded last November.

The play is adapted from French playwright Yasmina Reza’s Olivier and Tony Award-winning 'Le Dieu du Carnage'. You would know the plot. In this stage adaptation, the other set of parents are played by Olivia Yan (甄咏蓓) and Poon Chan Leung (潘燦良, also Louisa So's real-life long-term partner). These are superb theatre actors. Needless to say, the acting was excellent. The theatre was packed. Tickets were completely sold out for its two Singapore shows all the way up to Circle 3 and even seats with a restricted view.

The script kept to the original's intent. However, I gotta say I enjoyed the two-hour play way more in Cantonese. Loved it! The insults and the vulgarities were hilarious. Maybe I'm biased, but the language and phrases used definitely appealed better in Cantonese than in English. The English versions didn't feel as fun and irreverent. Wasn't taken by Roman Polanski's 2011 film adaptation starring Jodie Foster and Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet and John C. Reilly.

One could look at the play through the layers of social behaviors when it comes to raising children today. More than just a commentary on squabbling parents being protective of their 11-year-old sons, the play explores the veneer of civility that differentiates between adults and children, and how that is easily ripped apart. The argument(s) veers off tangent and of course, with the introduction of alcohol, the characters degenerate into petulant yelling with profanities, insults and accusations. I don't want think about how wives criticize their husbands or what husbands want from wives. Marriages are also about how couples hurt each other with thoughtless words. To me, I want to solely enjoy the snide remarks and humor that only Cantonese phrases and words can bring out.