Arts Preview: Immoral Hungarian trilogy has relevance for local audiences

THE PROOF
The Nonsensemakers

Hungarian writer Ágota Kristóf's The Notebook trilogy is about twin brothers surviving the final days of the second world war, and the early years under communist rule.

On the surface, the story hardly seems relevant to contemporary Hong Kong. But stage director Rensen Chan Man-kong, a member of arts group The Nonsensemakers, thinks that its universal themes of love, conflict and destruction will pique the interest of audiences here. He also wants to introduce local theatregoers to Kristóf's writing style, which he admires for its stark contrasts.

The Nonsensemakers staged a Cantonese version of The Notebook, the first part of the trilogy, in 2012. This year's The Proof takes up the story, and shows the brothers going their separate ways. One stays in his war-torn hometown to help the underprivileged, while the other leaves the country.

"I am not trying to emphasise the physical distance between them," says Chan. "I want to create a feeling of time and space. That way, the audience will find the play relevant, even though they are viewing life through the eyes of somebody else.

"But it is that distance that allows them to reflect on the damage of war from different perspectives," Chan adds. "Hong Kong has been fortunate to have avoided war since the Japanese occupation. But the world is a global village, and wars affect us economically and emotionally.