AS entertainment, Harry Wong - Harry Goh Goh of the show's title - is a jack-of-all-trades: he plays musical instruments, does conjuring tricks, occasionally has a go at singing and ventriloquism; and he presents all of this in a self-mocking comic style.
As a gentle warm-up, the show began with a masked clown making his way through the auditorium with a broom in his hand. Once on stage, he leaned his broom against a keyboard and sat down to play. In a flamboyant moment of apparent virtuosity, the clown knocked the broom down, whereupon he left his seat to pick it up - and the music continued! This engaging foolery put everyone in the right mood for an evening of light entertainment.
If some people thought this clown was Harry Wong, they were in for a surprise. In accordance with tradition, the clown was to remain anonymous. The real Harry Wong was instantly recognisable, even though he, too, wore a mask, the colour of which he proceeded to change in an instant, merely by passing a fan in front of his face.
Harry, the conjuror, went on to perform other, more dazzling tricks. An umbrella, for instance, was put into a cylinder and given to a small boy to hold, while a bag containing coloured handkerchiefs was checked by a little girl. Inexplicably, the handkerchiefs were transferred to the umbrella, the fabric of which ended up in the bag. Later, the levitation of a little girl left her just as mystified as the rest of us as to how it was done.
Essentially, Harry Wong is a versatile musician, as he ably demonstrated on a saxophone, a flute, keyboards and recorder. But Harry is not merely content to demonstrate his musical abilities; he encourages young people, by showing them how much fun can be had from playing an instrument. In fact, one of the highlights was some very proficient playing of recorders by a group of school students. Towards the end of the second half, Harry was joined by his colleague from Metro Radio, Steve James. Using different vocal sounds, which seemed to be instantly recorded and played back, James built up the musical texture of a simple song. Hordes of children then swarmed on to the stage, where they joined in the singing and followed the actions provided by Harry. They were ecstatic. This certainly was a great show for all the family.
Harry Goh Goh's One Man Band; Studio Theatre, Cultural Centre. July 21-23