I tend to know what I want to watch at Esplanade's annual Huayi Festival. Had earlier bought tickets to Hong Kong Repertory Theatre's 'Principle', 香港話劇團反映校改的話劇《原則》. No, I didn’t wear a mask to the 100-minute play, although many did. It was more annoying to hear people cough and sniffle non-stop, and they were inconsiderate enough to not be wearing masks.
Written by Ivan Kwok (郭永康) and directed by Fong Chun Kit (方俊傑), the play is performed in Cantonese with English and Chinese surtitles. The synopsis of this play is pretty much reflective of what's happening to many social spheres and political systems. An authoritarian new principal installed in a school is embroiled in a power play with the more liberal vice-principal. Rigidly adhering to Rules versus the bending of some. Gossip about the school board's intention of transferring out the vice-principal or his pending resignation upset the students, alumni and some parents, and it blew up to include the local media and reporters. There was a day of public reckoning, and everyone had their say.
The five actors were such a pleasure to watch — Lui Si Lan, Ko Hon Man, Chris Sun, Wong Suet Ip, Poon Tai Ming (雷思蘭，高翰文，申偉强，黄雪烨，潘泰铭). They were excellent, as usual. The themes addressed aren’t easily resolved. School, the student union, councilors and its associated extracurricular activities are a microcosm of society, You could watch it as it is, or link it to the social and political happenings in Hong Kong. I was just stoked to watch a play performed in Cantonese.
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