「隨想」的定義就是字面這麽簡單：看完戲，想到什麼便說什麼，東拉西扯，分享一些看劇的點滴，亦作為多給劇團正面回應和鼓勵的渠道。
禧春酒店 – 觀後随想
跟據場刊裡列表，《禧》劇初演是在1987，當時我在 Niagara-on-the-lake Shaw Festival 看另一 “hay” 劇：Noel
Coward 的《Hay fever》。回港後1996年在 APA Lyric Theatre第一次看「中英」《禧春酒店》，當年偷情的一對是由李鎮洲和陳瑞如演，前者是1987 day one開始已擔任這角色，後者則是96年初次加入；而兩人的另一半，孫惠芳亦是和C.C. 叔叔一樣包辨全部演出，黃清俊則是和陳瑞如同是96年加盟。找出96場刊一看，還有演懷春是林小寶，而四男四女卻包括彭秀慧和黃龍斌！
今次演出挑戰頗大，以錯摸為殺手鐧的喜鬧劇，法國Georges Feydeau 這劇，頗遜於英國Ray Cooney的Move Over Mrs. Markham《撞板風流》(又稱《女上男下》- 網誌38) 和本土司徒偉健的《頭注香》(網誌68)，原因是搞笑元素質和量都不夠，雖有頂尖高手陳鈞潤翻譯，和「中英」一支喜劇勁旅，也未能全補其先天不足。「中英」今次用“不刻意搞笑”的處理方法
(「藝頻」特稿*)，出發點是好的，但也要看觀眾的期待和接收能力，我看的一場，附近有批人士似乎認為自己正安坐在家中看電視，於此等人，就是苦心地提高劇本質素，甚至加上一些活地亞倫式幽默，也是浪費。
演員表現全部保持一貫的高水準：RTHK訪問提到
“簡樸天真” 的藍真珍演豪華怨婦有挑戰，其實她戲路甚廣，例如《作死》(網誌 58) 中一劇裡分演老婦和「美女傳銷」兩個極端相反角色揮灑自如，本劇的“怨婦”完全勝任；邢灝仍以搶鏡小人物深入民心，越看越覺得他媲美已故的小人物泰斗江毅老前輩；稍有casting against
type，爽朗的高少敏演懷春“色誘”戴夢星演得夠放，值得一讚。
我的老千生涯 – 觀後随想
在芸芸眾劇團中，「糊塗」找到面具加上沙畫這個niche很聰明，同時亦是觀眾之福，多了一個藝術「欣賞面」，但必需强調，這是在基本元素 (演技，編導等等) 上加添欣賞樂趣，不是取代，《我的老千生涯》如果沒有黃兆輝 (或同樣精彩的演員) 那精湛演技，便不會是這回事。
Rensen 今次 “退居幕後”，這四個字加上括弧是因為technically仍在台前，不過是專攻沙畫，同時，主角騰飛雖然再邀黃兆輝飾演，騰飛的VO一環，是自己擔任，也可算是參與演出，對連貫全劇有極重要貢獻。自《二人證據》(網誌64) 後再見黃兆輝出現「糊塗」大喜，將來《第三謊言》自然少不了他，而騰飛一角，其實也非他莫屬，要演不同時代，不同心態的騰飛，能夠層次分明，同時也貫徹統一，黃兆輝演來極有說服力。嚴格來說《我的老千生涯》只有騰飛一個主角，但前女友小荷的位置卻相當重要，而這類“平凡” 的角色最難演，Jo有深度的演繹，使我想起Owning Mahowny* 裡的Minnie
Driver，雖然兩個角色很多不同的地方，但男友同是病態賭徒，兩演員亦同樣把一個平平無奇的人物，演得有血有肉，有聲有色。
面具的妙用《和媽媽中國漫遊》(網誌56) 隨想裡已介紹過，今次又再印證，且看小荷再見騰飛後簡述別後經歷一場，用了不少手勢和身體語言 (註：是平常生活中常用的，而不是表演藝術裡的型體動作)，使角色更立體，卻又來得自然，和面具的配合天衣無縫。這劇舞台技術千變萬化，叫人目 (and耳) 不暇給，又豈只面具一環。例如其中兩場睹局七張椅子一橫排，一直排，演員的演繹手法，全用型體，叫人看得眉飛色舞；聲音VO亦神乎其技，例如騰飛和三元引Jack So入局一場，兩人對白中私語的部份用了VO，幕後控制的準繩絲毫不能有失；還有最後一場睹局中各人回憶的montage (初遇，火燭，激鬦等等)，嘆為觀止；旋轉舞台的運用 (特别是"三缺一"一場)；Frankie Ho 從來都是出色的配樂，今次同樣是推進劇情的一大功臣。
近來《明週》對舞台劇多了報導，自然是好事，隨了舖天蓋地報導將快上演的《感冒誌》外，上期和今期分別有特稿介紹魏綺珊和殷詠蓓。報導Jo “棄高薪辩劇團曾一鋪清袋”，那份熱誠和勇氣，實在教人感動，起敬。
One flew over the cuckoo's nest –
觀後随想
For this all-time classic, Naiad Productions
has mounted a production worthy of Broadway, West End, or Toronto's King's Street
West, for that matter. The 1975 cinematic rendition of “One flew over the
cuckoo's nest” currently occupies #15 in the IMDb top 250 list. It is also a
movie that might be holding the all-time record (I haven't checked) of sweeping
the 5 most important Oscars (picture, director, both lead acting, screenplay).
I can still remember the telecast of the Oscar ceremony in which an emotional
Louise Fletcher, tears swelling in her eyes, thanked the Oscar judges for
hating her enough to give her the Best Lead Actress award (something to that
effect). I can't remember what Jack Nicholson said but whatever it was, it
would not have been emotional – nothing short of putting an ax in his hands
would make him so, I may add. But I digress.
While HKRT's Black Box is a frequented
escapade, walking into it to see a performance in the English language is a
rare experience. There was Kassia Choirs' "Fly me to the moon" jazz concert a
few years ago. There was also, two years ago, Theatre Noir's musical “With
love, William Shakespeare”/莎翁的情書 (yes, I watched both
the English and the Cantonese versions). “One flew over the cuckoo's nest” is
the first non-music performance I watched there. Hope there will be more.
Walking into the intimate theatre, I was
already impressed by the set design – grey, black and white, all lines and
angles, clinically chilling. The cast, “a mix of veteran thespians and new
faces” (TOHK) meld together well, thanks undoubtedly to the director Lara
Genovese's dedicated methods in getting the actors to acquire an in-depth
understanding of their own characters as well as other characters (as details
in a TOHK interview). Melvin Bromden in this “his first time on live stage”
should be commended on his depiction to the at once taciturn and eloquent Chief
Bromden, whose ultimate fate echoes a titular reference. Veteran leads Rob
Archibald and Candice Moore deliver a credible reprisal of the indelible iconic
characters rendered almost immortal (at least in the cinematic universe) by Nicholson
and Fletcher, one rebellious with undaunted spirit, the other ruthless to the
point of sadism. Also impressive is Ben M Swift's seasoned portrayal of troubled
Billy, with heartbreaking vulnerability and prodigious innocence. The other
members of the sizable cast all provide solid support.
TOHK's article on an interview with director
Lara Genovese talks about, among other things, how relevant this play is to
what is happening here and now, just as the original book was in the 1950s when
the American Civil Rights Movements was in full swing. “We all have issues, but
there are ways to overcome that” is the upbeat conclusion of the article.
玫瑰情書 – 觀後随想
“跟”「新域劇團」，開始自1999的《在森林和原野上的六國大封相》(該演出是港澳合作，演員大部份來自澳門)，十多年來經過如「昆蟲」等系列，到近年的兩齣英文戲名小品劇，今年年頭聽電台訪問蔡錫昌後便期待新作，很高興終於看到大型的《玫瑰情書》。以聖修伯里和《小王子》為題材的話劇卻不是第一次看，1999年「進劇場」上演的《五千薔薇》，正是inspired by 他的生平和創作，記憶所及，是一齣較為“印象派”的作品，是陳麗珠和紀文舜創作和演出，其他演員之中還有熟悉的鄭綺釵。《五千薔薇》場刊說 “他和飛機的殘骸沒有被找到，他的失踪至今仍是一個謎”，但該劇上演後次年，飛機的殘骸找到了 (參考：《玫瑰情書》場刊裡年表)。《五千薔薇》場刊還帶來一個驚喜，就是「謀殺莫扎特」的節錄，讀時已頗有感覺，到看《玫瑰情書》上半場結尾鄧偉傑的獨白，聽到一開始 “頭等客車….”，差一點沒歡呼出來！
這個製作除了主體吸引之多，bells and whistles亦份外豐富，舞方面有專業水準的探戈及肚皮舞 (後者更勾起數年前土耳其一遊的樂趣)，歌有The Animals Went In Two By Two和 Alouette，更有蔡玟軒，那怕只是兩次沒有歌詞的輕哼，已夠醉人！演員方面，驚喜杜施聰今次有不少戲，看過《四季人》(網誌18) 和《哥本哈根》(網誌30)，就一直期待再看他的主力演出，今次也可算略作 “啖梅止渴”；看盧偉力和余世騰同場演出，可能已經是十四年前「TNT」前身三團聯演的《哈姆雷特》，更有趣的是一週前看完《勝者為王》，如果沒認錯人，是從沙田大會堂， “跟” 余世騰到火車站入口；其他熟悉的演員還有自「灣仔劇團」年代已開始看的陳慧仙。舞台設計好，以布蓋上家具，一物二用，是實景，亦是沙丘，傾斜的演區(機翼)有一定的吸引，但也有一定的風險，仍記得《美麗連繫》(網誌
21) 裡陳安然如何應變執生，今次曾棱尉同樣處變不驚，一讚。
這劇雖然內容豐富，包含近代史，戰爭，政治，階級，藝術創作，民族性，以至飛行之樂，但主線清楚，是男女主角之間的複雜感情，劇的成敗全在於兩個主角身上。曾棱尉中五後去台灣，通過嚴格面試考入台北藝術大學，在牛群遍校園中的自然環境下讀完戲劇系，回港後曾audition《伽利略傳》未被錄用，但卻因而得到audition本劇機會成功。鄧偉傑不需介紹，今次是劇團特別造請。男女主角一個新人，一個前輩，但同樣是選角精準，更重要的，是演繹聖修百里和康綏籮之間微妙的chemistry，法國和南美拉丁的民族特質，都具說服力，bravo！
勝者為王 – 觀後随想
For a “dated” (meant neutrally) play such as
this one to be appreciated, an understanding of the period is necessary. Rather
than fussing about “what’s the big deal about screwing around with other
people’s wife”, the audience need to appreciate that two decades after the
height of McCarthyism, bigotry was still blatantly alive in the United States,
as best reflected by a most popular TV drama called “All in the family”. Archie
Bunker, the “hero” of the show and an iconic working-class red neck, was
bigotry personified. In “That championship season”, the main character, the
coach, all but out-Bunkers Archie although he is at a somewhat higher rung in
the social class ladder. Another important icon, this one real rather than
fictional, was the coach of the Football (American football, that is) team
Green Bay Packers that won the very first two seasons of the Super Bowl (1967,
1968). Vince Lombardi’s legendary quote was probably known to each and every
single American at the time: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”. Underscoring
this spirit, at the conclusion of the play, was the melody of the U.S. national
anthem, wordlessly bringing to mind the lyrics “Oh say can you see, by the
dawn’s early light….”.
One New York Times theatre review I managed
to Google is on a 2011 production starring Kiefer Sutherland (as James) and
Brian Cox (as the coach). The review opens with this apt introduction “Like its
liquored-up, confession-prone characters, this award-laden 1972 drama states
its intentions loudly, repeatedly and often embarrassingly.” This insightful
review continues later with “Being equated with the United States is not a
compliment…..(the play) made its debut on the eve of the Watergate scandal, and
is steeped in the smell of disgust with red-white-and-blue corruption in the
age of the Vietnam War”.
明白了這齣劇的背景，便不會挑剔它 “老餅”，而以温故而知新的角度去欣賞其傳統戲劇手法。老教練之外四個角色各有典型，借用上述劇評：George – Buffoon；
Phil – Cad；James – Little Man；Tom
– Cynical Drunk. 教練的“大美國”更不用說。
「劇場空間」真好玩，年中推出一齣陰柔的《八美猜兇》後，今次是極盡陽剛的《勝者為王》，同樣是大致上“見慣見熟”的强勁卞士。《勝者為王》中唯一不同的是“聽慣聽熟”的楊吉璽，使人立刻想起十多年前「義海雄風」裡演大奸角的倪秉郎，不過倪氏是職業演藝人，楊氏是傳媒人玩票式踏台板，演George表現十分不俗，能量充沛之餘，Buffoon一面亦演得夠放。陳敏斌的演出，最記得的就是場刊提到的《房間裏的女人》(網誌42)，雖然演得好，但角色設計近乎虚幻，而今次《勝者為王》裡，最喜歡的就是他的Cynical Drunk啊Tom，一股毒手瘋乞金世遺(《雲海玉弓緣》)的味兒活現台上，魅力十足。餘下三位，都是看過無數次，而且均有參與去年的《歷史男生》(網誌60) 的演出。可塑性很高的喬寶忠《歷》劇中演的是個心術不正的校長，但今年較早的《棋廿三》(網誌63) 裡卻是强硬的日本棋仕，今次搖身一變，是自怨自艾的小人物，很是神似；《歷史男生》裡陳健豪和馮祿德兩個角色的強烈對比和衝擊，是該劇最大趣味的所在，今次各自精彩，陳健豪是擔任“四人組”中“市儈” 一環，馮祿德的教練是整齣戲的最中心人物，有趣的是某些遭遇和他《歷》劇中的角色相同，就是年老時再不獲僱主尊重，但相同之處只此而已，《歷》劇中的老師雖然行徑有時出位，但卻是備受敬愛，今次的教練在成年後的學生面前遂漸原形畢露，醜態百出，兩個截然不同的角色，都被馮祿德演活了。
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