Born and raised in Hong Kong, the enfant terrible choreographer-director set up the avant-garde group Zuni Icosahedron with choreographer Danny Yeung, before establishing the Edward Lam Dance Theatre in 1993. The company will be presenting a series of four plays called What Is A Youth? from September 14-26 at the Arts Centre. He has been curator of Hong Kong's lesbian and gay film festival since it started in 1989.
Where are you most likely to be at 10am on a Sunday? The same place I am at 10am every other day of the week, at Sun Cheung Hing cafe in Happy Valley for a Chinese-style breakfast of egg and ham toasted sandwich (no butter), a bowl of macaroni soup with shredded ham, and an iced lemon tea with a little syrup.
Where are you most likely to be at 10pm on a Friday? Rehearsing in a studio. But if I had a lover, we'd wander around town to get food or watch a film, but you'd never find me in Lan Kwai Fong, SoHo, Tsim Sha Tsui or karaoke bars because I hate crowds.
Where do you live? I live in Happy Valley. It's like a little village: you can bump into friends, walk around in your slippers and make friends with waiters and supermarket cashiers. It reminds me of London's West Hampstead, where I once lived [he was in London from 1990-93].
Where do you go to escape in Hong Kong? The Morrison Hill Public Swimming Pool in Wan Chai. I try to go when the pool has very little traffic, in early afternoon or half an hour before closing. I love the feeling of swimming in a big pool alone, it reminds me of a Krzysztof Kieslowski film set in Eastern Europe.
Where do you go for dim sum? My current favourite is the student canteen at the University of Science and Technology in Sai Kung. The food is good and costs hardly anything.