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Kevin Kwong

Richard III
Hong Kong Repertory Theatre
HK Cultural Centre Grand Theatre
Reviewed: Jul 11
Hong Kong Repertory Theatre's Cantonese adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III, directed by Lam Lap-sam,  is a  solid piece of storytelling. The decision to have the text, translated by Grace Liu,  delivered in colloquial style gives  the classic a contemporary feel.
The themes of greed, jealousy, insecurity and mistrust are explored in  the tragedy, which  charts the rise and fall of King Richard III.
Richard (Chung King-fai;  right), the Duke of Gloucester, is deformed - a bald hunchback with a limp - with a repulsive character to match. Obsessed with gaining power, he plots and murders his way to the throne. Among those he bumps off are his own brothers King Edward IV (Huang Xianguang)  and George (Sun Limin),  two young nephews Prince Edward (Chester Wong)  and the Duke of York (Ling Man-lung),  his wife Lady Anne (Wong Wai-chi)  and  his cousin and closest ally Buckingham (Bowie Lam).  His paranoia is his  undoing, when he is killed by the Earl of Richmond (Poon Chan-leung)  on the battlefield. 
The tale of a power struggle resonates with  cutthroat office politicking   and director Lam cleverly reflects  that in his reading of the work, highlighting the two-faced nature of the characters. 
The set, designed by Tsang Man-tung,  and lighting  by John  Williams  helped enhance the visual experience and narrative, although there were technical issues with  the sound on the opening night, which  got the show off to a wobbly start.
The main problem is the acting. Chung has stage presence, but lacks subtlety. His Richard is scheming, yet the coldness and cruelty shimmering underneath is missing. He tries to present the many facets of the villain, but  ends  up playing him too straight. His limp also quickly turns into scuttling.
Bowie Lam's Buckingham  also lacks depth,  even though the TV actor   made a confident stage debut. 
Until Jul 21



Richard III