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Kevin Kwong

Hanako's Pillow
Theatre du Pif
Studio Theatre, HK Cultural Centre
Reviewed: July 10
Theatre du Pif's latest work, Hanako's Pillow, is a visually attractive production.  As a result the action on stage had to compete  with the set design from  Lee Yun Soo, costumes by  Cheng Man-wing,  Lau Man-hang's lighting and  live cello music by  Letty Poon.
Inspired by   Kwaidan - a collection of Japanese ghost stories compiled and translated by  Lafcadio Hearn, a half-Irish, half-Greek novelist who settled in Japan early last century - the group's  Bonni Chan and  Sean Curran (above) and guest director  Robert Draffin  developed this drama that is part horror tale and part  moral lesson.
Hanako (Chan) is rumoured to be a witch, living deep in the forest. She is said to be so beautiful  no man can resist falling in love with her - and none has lived to tell  the tale. Hanako meets her match in a warrior (Curran) who is as strange and mysterious as she is.
When the visitor is asked to sleep on her magical pillow, their  dreams and lives begin to intertwine. What follows is a power play (be it sexual or physical) between the characters.
Throughout the hour-long play the audience is kept in suspense: is Hanako a real witch? Will she cast a deadly spell  on the warrior?  Who is the warrior? And as Hanako's enigmatic appearance becomes more youthful and alluring,  is that a sign of trouble ahead?
But despite all these interesting intrigues, the drama failed to engage. It may have something to do with the characters, who  remained cool and aloof. Chan's Hanako  was not enchanting while Curran was too intense and could have loosened up a little to reveal some  of the tormented warrior's emotions.  The connection between the two characters was  also wafer thin.
However, Poon's playing,  Shirley Tsoi's singing and the simple but beautiful stage were haunting and  spell-binding.



Hanako's Pillow