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Kevin Kwong

Empty

W Theatre

Studio Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Reviewed: September 22

Abortion, suicide, corruption and murder are just some of the issues this production tackles. Written by  Alvin Wong Chi-lung and directed by  Leung Cho-yiu, W Theatre's  Empty depicts a gritty side of modern-day Hong Kong - a city, in the playwright's view, that's devoid of  moral values  and standards.

The two-act musical drama also explores the  emptiness  of a generation that's consumed by  pastimes such as karaoke, shopping, on-line chat and backstabbing.

Wong Yuen-kwan (played by  Shaw Mei-kwan) is out of love  and out of luck. She discovers  that her boyfriend is cheating on her when she's pregnant with his child.  Despairing and desperate, she goes on a shopping spree to numb her senses   and runs into a stranger, Joey (Leung), who agrees to act out her sexual fantasies (a date rape) and satisfy her carnal needs. The man turns out to be both a cad and a cheat. She  finally finds a soulmate in Jacob  (Chan Chu-hei), a  divorce on his way up the career ladder.

The rest of the drama basically comprises two parallel storylines: how Yuen-kwan deals with  her pregnancy and Joey,  and  how Jacob eventually gets his promotion (but not without paying a hefty price).

W Theatre, which has produced some fine work such  as  Queer Show and  Superman Forever, should be commended for taking a risk  to stage something as dark and hard-hitting as Empty. However, there's one serious  flaw in its execution: a lack of characterisation.  Yuen-kwan and Joey are simply two-dimensional. Leung's direction was patchy, and Wong's script incoherent at times.

Such shortcomings  were partially compensated by composer  Michael Tsang  Wai-yin's  original score,  Wong's no-nonsense lyrics and  a  live band. As an independent theatre company that receives  no government subsidies and relies totally on freelance actors,  W Theatre would do better  not to rush into production -  otherwise it may jeopardise  the well-deserved success it has built  so far.



Empty