Hong Kong City Hall Theatre Until Mar 8, 8pm; Mar 7, 3pm
During a visit to the US three years ago, local playwright Chong Mui-ngam looked up a primary school friend whom she hadn't seen for more than a decade. It was a happy reunion; despite the years apart, the pair still felt close to one another.
'But at the back of my mind, I was wondering what if the reunion didn't play out that way,' Chong says.
This dark thought forms the 'backbone' of her latest play Murder in San Jose, which is part of this year's Hong Kong Arts Festival.
'The story is set in San Jose because my impression of this west coast city is that it is very relaxing there and always sunny. It's a direct contrast to Hong Kong. And to have something sinister happening in such a beautiful place is an interesting concept,' Chong says.
Kearan Pang Sau-wai (right, with actor Desmond Tang Wai-kit) plays a carefree young woman whose visit to an old friend triggers a series of events that lead to an unexpected ending. .
Billed as a thriller about suppressed desire, Chong says the work also raises philosophical questions.