The Inquisition: playwright Wong Wing-sze
The cat-loving playwright and actress on things that go bump in the night
I wrote my previous play, I Hate Therefore I Marry, which premiered in New York in January from November to December. It was depressing because it was the coldest winter in New York for the past 25 years. When I wrote A Taste of Love and Horror, I was in a very different place because I was finally in familiar surroundings with my cats next to me.
I think there are Hongkongers who perceive the world through fear
Yes, that's why the story was so melancholic. I felt very lonely. As soon as I arrived in New York, the first thing I bought was the biggest fluffy toy — Sulley from Monsters, Inc. — I could find in Times Square. I needed something fluffy around me.
The sadness has stayed with me since I came back. I think there are Hongkongers who perceive the world through fear — for instance, they fear that the influx of mainlanders would crush this city. This sentiment is hidden somewhere in my play. I wanted to use my own approach to express this anxiety of not being able to find an exit however hard a person tries. I've invented a kind of limbo in the play, where spirits that have left the bodies wander aimlessly.