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SCMP Reporter

IF you like your drama saccharine-sweet and escapist, then keep away from Patrick Lee. If, however, you are prepared to think while you laugh, you may appreciate the talents of this man of many identities.

  His one-man show Exotic Fortunes opened earlier this week as part of the second Asian People's Theatre Festival.

  Lee is in Hongkong for a month as a special guest of the festival whose main theme this year is the Asian experience of migration.

  As a Hongkong-born Chinese American, Lee is in a good position to present this theme to Hongkong audiences.

  He left the territory when he was 13 and has lived in Los Angeles and San Francisco for the past 17 years.

  Trained as an engineer but currently working as a marketing analyst, Lee views his job as a ''means to an end, not an end in itself''.

  Given the opportunity, he would love to spend more time on his real passion - the theatre. His Hongkong performances are possible because he took a month of unpaid leave from work. He hopes to take a year out later.

    This passion comes straight from a heart burning with anger. Anger at the injustices he sees around him such as racism, prejudice, homophobia, the oppression of women and lack of communication between people.

  Though anger is the driving force behind his work, there is also empathy, compassion and humour. ''Anger and confrontation may alienate some people, so I try to inject some humour to make the message more acceptable,'' he explains.

  This, he acknowledges, might mean having to dilute his message to make it more palatable, something which he feels he has to accept.

  Although his work is intensely political, in the broadest sense, Lee is primarily a storyteller whose stories are based on his experiences and observations of life around him. It is through these narratives that he expresses his politics.

  ''There are so many funny and touching stories from the Chinese experience and the most ridiculous situations in my work are often true ones.''   Lee started writing his own material about three years ago, out of frustration at the lack of roles for Asians.

  ''They either don't deal with us at all, or they get it wrong, stereotyping us as unsexy, wimpy Chinese waiters and mysterious, exotic geisha girls,'' he says.

  Exotic Fortunes is anything but a rehash of these stereotypes. In a physically gruelling hour-long performance, Lee takes the audience on a journey through San Francisco's Chinatown and assumes no less than 11 characters.

  The cast includes Anarko, a college senior who is all angst and rage; his gay brother Chippie; and their friend Melanie whose parents want her to become a neurosurgeon.

  Lee freely admits that many of the characters are aspects of him and that the material is at least 50 per cent autobiographical.

  And through this ensemble, he plays out the things closest to his heart - family tensions, contradictions of race, culture, and the different generations.

  ''My stuff is very culturally specific but I believe it also explores universal issues.''   Lee also tackles the taboo subject of homosexuality and sexual politics head on.

  He says it is the first time he has dealt so overtly with the former and admitted he was unsure how Hongkong audiences would react. ''On the whole, the Chinese don't like to admit it exists, they try to ignore it altogether.''   The material is made more complex through its dealings with race and power within gay relationships.

  ''I know this is going to be provocative but I feel it's something that needs to be addressed - many of my gay friends admit they prefer dating white men and it is a status thing,'' he says.

  Despite the controversial nature of the material, responses so far have been surprisingly positive. Lee has taken Exotic Fortunes to Honolulu and Sydney as well as San Francisco.

  Reaction in Honolulu was particularly heartening. ''There is a large Asian population there and I think there was enough in the play for everyone to be able to identify with some aspect of it.''   The Hongkong performance is just one of many firsts for the performer and his play. It is Lee's maiden performance in his native city and also the first time Exotic Fortunes has been played in Asia. It is also the first time it has been performed in a mixture of Cantonese and English.

  Lee is clearly excited by his homecoming. Of late, he says he is drawn to Hongkong because, ''I want to explore my roots and it's interesting to be a part of a majority again.''   Though, he is aware that because of his outspoken views, he still falls into a different kind of minority group here.

  With his composite identity as an Asian-American and as a political activist who champions minority rights, Lee is frustrated by attempts to compartmentalise him.

  ''I find gay theatres don't want to book me because the material is not gay enough and the Asian theatres don't want to book me because of the gay element in it.''   At the moment, he says he is unwilling to compromise his message in order to fit into anybody's preconceptions.

  As an artist, he believes the most important thing is to ''be true to who you are and to your unique voice.''   Lee's voice comes from his experiences as an Asian-American and from the conviction of his personal politics.

  Exotic Fortunes' last showing is at 2.45 today in the McAulay Studio, Arts Centre. A workshop on solo performance will also be held at the McAulay Studio, next Thursday at 7.15pm.



Artist burning bright with anger