Actor Joey Leung

A father, a male sex worker and an old woman all live with death looming on the horizon. Along with their families, all three move into a hospice-like villa before they pass on. It is the stories of these dying characters which is central to Windmill Grass Theatre’s latest production, “Shadow Box.” The Pulitzer Prize-winning play was written by Michael Cristofer, and for this production it has been translated into Cantonese by Joey Leung, who is one of the founders of the theater company and also plays the father. Explaining the key themes of the play, he says: “Death can be considered to be experienced like walking into a shadow box and disappearing but each of the characters involved all perceive death in their own way, leading to complicated relationships within the families.” Having lost his own father recently, Leung brings personal experience to the production. “I experienced how desperate one could be, how optimistic one could be, and how one can somehow manage to enjoy the tranquil but peaceful moments before one’s death,” he says.

Asked if there’s a message for the audience, Leung says, “theater is not a place to teach, but a place to stimulate thinking.” After seeing the play, he hopes the audience will think more about life and death and strive to do something to improve their own situations. “If you know that at the next moment you will die, that just means you’re still alive right now.”