No.15 揚劇 The Real Inspector Hound 昆蟲世界 白毛女

白毛女

Too bad I'm going to miss this performance by just one day.  Do share Michael's high praises for Perry Chiu.

白毛女 焦媛實驗劇場 2008/09/13 上環
編劇:艾文. 導演:余健生. 音樂:劉顈途. 編舞:梅卓燕.
演員:焦媛,楊政楠,蘇育輝,葉榮煌,馮澤恩,黃翠儀,文瑞興...
故事是土了一點.這是一部音樂劇加上不少舞蹈場面.焦媛在這裡用了不少功夫.編舞很會用薄紗布,小塊紅色可以蓋住整個人,大塊白色從天花到台上. 使人想起歌劇"莎樂美"中的"Dance of the seven veils". 焦媛使出混身解數, 演、唱、跳都做得非常好.是現今舞台上超一流的演員. 下午場在 13:15 開始, 沒有中場休息, 14:40 謝幕. 似乎太短了一點.

昆蟲世界. The Insect Play 中英劇團 2008/09/04
藝術總監:古天農. 原著:Karel and Josef Capek. 翻譯:陳鈞潤. 導演:盧俊豪.
演出:袁富華,盧智燊,王曉怡,吳家良,胡麗英.林玉盈,梁穎智,鄧世昌,鄭國偉.
昆蟲世界 香港官方網站: http://www.chungying.com/08insectplay/index.html
網上有很多談論這個劇本的板本和演出的網頁, 如: http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/~sjohnson/insect/index.html  也有Study Notes.
可是這次中英的演出把它化成兒童閙劇也吸引了不少小朋友. 導演說:『有一個爭論,兒童劇應該給兒童一個真實血腥殘酷的現實教育, 這是純 Fantasy 式的美麗童話...』
原著中的 Tramp 改成小女孩, Butterflies 的片斷輕輕帶過... 演員落力與觀眾打成一片, 把一個大皮球在觀眾席中混來混去. 劇本經過刪改後給人一個兩邊不討好的感覺.

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The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard

Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer

Soulpepper Theatre Company

At Young Centre for the Performing Arts

Toronto September 2008

 

The amazing thing about this comedy double bill is that the entirely independent plays happen both to have eight characters, with similar distribution of sex, age, shape, size – so much so that they allow the exact same cast to play both.

 

“The real Inspector Hound” I’ve actually seen before, in Cantonese, performed by 中英劇團 under the title of 非常偵探. This is a three-(short)act play with a clever twist. It starts as a-play-in-a-play, with two critics watching a murder mystery from their box. Right ways, there’s an engaging parallel, the play and the critic’s titillating dialogue. But as the story unfolds, the critics are no longer detached bystanders and observers, but step into the play, quite literally. Their own real life becomes mingled and mixed up with the play, in a rather surreal fashion. Quite clever. The Soulpepper cast, as usual, delivers a sparkling performance.

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The real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard

Black comedy by Peter Shaffer

Soulpepper Theatre Company

At Young Centre for the Performing Arts

Toronto September 2008

 

“Black comedy” is clever in a different way. This one-act play hinge entirely on people being caught in complete darkness (power failure) – right away almost endless possibilities for comedy. But how to present this on stage – while the characters on stage are supposed to be completely in the dark, literally, the audience must be able to see them. That’s how it’s clever. In the first 10 minutes (maybe less but it FELT like at least 10), it was pitch-dark in the entire theatre (a somewhat nerve-wrecking experience for audience with claustrophobia). We heard two characters talking on stage (among other things, such as kissing), and him commenting on her beautiful green dress. Then, all of a sudden, the background music comes to a scratching halt – an easily recognizable sound signifying power failure. At the same time, the stage is suddenly lit up with unnaturally bright lighting, and we see the two of them (she’s in green alright) groping about in a well-furnished living room, in complete darkness (to them). Very clever.

 

The rest of the play follows this mode – unnaturally bright lighting unless someone flicks a cigarette lighter, strikes a match or switches on a flashlight, when the lighting of the stage will be immediately dimmed to replicate the effect. As soon as the dim light is blown out (which happens very often), the bright light comes back, signifying total darkness. Full advantage has been taken on this situation in creating this hilarious play, which brought the house down.

 

 

 

 

江蘇省揚劇團 香港大會堂劇院 2008/08/31
第三晚: 折子戲: 1.瞎子算命 2.方卿羞姑 3.鴻雁傳書 4.雷打張繼保
1.瞎子算命 主演:王瞎子-張大春, 曾姑娘-熊小萍.
2.方卿羞姑 主演:方卿-馬曉祥, 姑母-汪小艶, 姑爹-胡順坤, 紅雲-樊玲玲, 家院-江林玉
3.鴻雁傳書 主演:王寶釧-徐秀芳
4.雷打張繼保 主演:張元秀-繆勇, 賀氏-汪小艶, 張繼保-楊勇, 地保-張大春
徐秀芳演正旦貞婦烈女獨腳戲是這晚的高潮. 熊小萍的小旦演出天真活潑, 汪小艶在方卿羞姑中份演彩旦滑稽奸刁,又在第四場演老旦賀氏. 她在第一晚演武旦楊七娘, 第二晚演善良性格爽朗的趙氏. 多材多藝. 再有李霞在第二晚演刀馬旦王昭君. 揚劇中的各類旦角盡長眼前.
生行中楊劇團有國家一級演員侯長榮和繆勇,加上秦小天,胡順坤,馬曉祥,唱腔簡樸柔和,動作儒雅,秀逸. 比美旦,丑角.
場中有許多說揚州的觀眾,他們連看三晚.我也略聽得懂揚州話.有親切的感覺.

江蘇省揚劇團 香港大會堂劇院 2008/08/30
第二晚: 折子戲: 櫃中緣,魏徵斬龍,出塞,斷太后.
1.櫃中緣 主演:玉蓮-熊小萍,岳雷-侯長榮,淘氣-江林玉,趙氏-汪小艶
2.魏徵斬龍 主演:魏徵-秦小天,龍王-胡順坤,唐王-馬曉祥
3.出塞 主演:王昭君-李霞,馬童-周兵
4.斷太后:李太后,包拯-繆勇,范仲華-張大春,趙虎-徐春華
揚劇保持花鼓戲樸素,活潑的特色,以丑和旦為主.如百歲掛帥和櫃中緣的江林玉,斷太后的張大春,語言幽默,翻跳跌撲,唱做具佳. 旦行再有細分小旦,正旦,彩旦,老旦和武旦. 老旦扮演老年婦女,動作很少,重唱功,表演蒼勁渾厚, 如百歲掛帥和斷太后中的徐秀芳. 只要她一站出來,觀眾立即報以掌聲. 場中遇上 Fridayhiker, Horatio. 他大讚徐秀芳,說她是中國的 Maria Callas.

江蘇省揚劇團 香港大會堂劇院 2008/08/29
第一晚: 百歲掛帥
主演:佘太君-徐秀芳,穆桂英-李霞,楊文廣-熊小萍,柴郡主-袁曉君,宋仁宗-繆勇,八賢王-侯長榮,范仲華-江林玉,楊七娘-汪小艵,焦廷貴-奏小天,王文-徐春華,楊輝-張大春
『揚劇,江蘇主要地方劇種之一,以揚州民問小戲花鼓戲和農村香火戲為基礎,並吸收了揚州清曲. 其後借鑒京劇的化妝、行頭及劇目等. 三十年代初在上海逐漸形成維揚戲(或稱揚州戲.此時己發展至行頭考究、行當齊全,生、旦、淨、丑四行皆備.1950年維揚戲改名為揚劇. 江蘇省揚劇團1953年組建於南京,是為第一個國營揚劇團.』- 場刊
劇團演出三晚,其他兩晚都是折子戲. 百歲掛帥是揚劇經典,曾被改編拍成戲曲電影[楊門女將]. 徐秀芳(佘太君)國家一級演員,第十九屆中國戲劇梅花奬得主,曾獲多個演出奬. 李霞(穆桂英)和熊小萍(楊文廣)都是國家二級演員. 三位是本劇的台柱. 唱,演,武打都十分精彩. 拍掌喝采不斷. 更有不少觀眾在半場時到票房補飛購買下場戲票. 第七幕佘太君掛帥率領楊門女將英勇殲敵,班師回朝. 謝幕時全場觀眾站立鼓掌.

Michael, thanks for your tireless effort in updating the monthly play bill.  So many interesting titles.  I'll talk to you separately.   The one on "Hitch" looks very tempting.

I'll have one more STAGE report next week, another Soulpepper production which promises to be very entertaining.  That would be it for this summer.  From then on, it's TIFF time!

Harry