Sumo time and the jiving is easy

It boggles the mind a little to watch five half-clad young men slide smoothly from grappling each other in a sumo match into a choreographed song-and-dance sequence.

It is one of the most rewarding surprises that one finds in the Springtime Production version of Masayuki Suo's screenplay, Sumo Do Sumo Don't. Why would - and how does - one turn the successful Japanese film into a fully fledged stage musical? 'I think Masayuki Suo himself was asking that question when we told him the idea: in fact, he sent a representative over to watch our rehearsals last week and tape it for him,' laughed film director-turned stage producer Clifton Ko Chi-sum, who secured three-year rights to the script.

'But we did not just want to translate it into Chinese and put it on as a simple drama; we wanted it to be different, so we thought we should change it into a musical.' But it should not be a surprise because Ko's Springtime - in which he is a partner with Chung Ying Theatre's Ko Tin-lung and Hong Kong Repertory Theatre's Raymond To Kwok-wai - was responsible for That's Entertainment, the first long-running local musical, staged last December.

Ko was always a fan of Sumo Do Sumo Don't, which grossed almost $7 million in Hong Kong when it ran here several years ago despite playing in only one art-house cinema. Friends at Chung Ying Theatre mentioned the story would be a good one to stage. The theatre did not approach the film company for rights, but Ko spent two years going after the script. 'They didn't really think we were serious about it at first,' he said.

Ko decided early on that Sumo Do Sumo Don't would make a perfect offering for the International Children's Arts Festival, even though the story was Japanese.

'The theme is a very healthy one,' he said. 'You have a group of youths who are looked down upon by their peers but after striving very hard they reach the top. And the characters are also very vibrant, energetic and sharp. I think it is good to translate it for a Hong Kong audience.

'We used a lot of old hits from Japanese artists such as the Checkers and Akina Nakamori, which would be familiar to the parents who bring their children, so they can relate to it and enjoy it too.' Springtime has its own full-time contract actors, but the producer decided to look to new talent from the Academy for Performing Arts. So two-thirds of the cast and crew are still APA students on their summer break, and the rest recent graduates.