Four Assassins
If you missed the movie “Four Assassins“—an independent action-thriller made in Hong Kong—when it breezed through theaters last year, you’re in luck. In conjunction with Sweet and Sour Productions, the movie’s director and screenwriter Stanley J. Orzel has teamed up with director Candice Moore to adapt the story for the stage. Andrea Kan sat
down with the pair to discuss modern Wuxia, Hong Kong’s theater scene, and the challenges of converting screen to stage.
HK Magazine: What was the original inspiration for “Four Assassins”?
Stanley J. Orzel: I have always had an interest in Wuxia—a Chinese fiction genre that centers on the adventures of warriors and martial artists. I just wanted to look more into it in a modern context.
HK: Was it tricky to adapt the film to the stage?
SJO: It was quite a challenge because I am a screenwriter, not a playwright. I am used to working on a limitless canvas, but this time I had a single, confined space. While the majority of the film takes place in a hotel room, there are several flashback scenes. I had to rewrite a lot of the dialogue and stage directions to ensure the story would be properly conveyed. The script is now in a different format altogether.
Candice Moore: Performing something originally meant for the big screen is a challenge for the actors, and myself as well. The film features many scenes that are technically difficult for us to duplicate on stage. When acting out what used to be close-ups, the actors are only able to use body language to play out the same subtle emotions. When acting out flashbacks, they have to master the delicate difference between their character’s old and current selves. It’s difficult to clearly show these transitions without the help of a change in costume or scenery.
HK: Does performing the play in English with a non-Chinese cast compromise its ability to pay homage to traditional Chinese Wuxia novels?
SJO: In my opinion, what truly makes a traditional Wuxia story is its focus on story, characters, and how they interact with one another. In that regard, I believe I am staying true to the Wuxia genre. “Four Assassins”—about a group of people who come together in a Hong Kong hotel room and discuss the past, present and future—is essentially a Wuxia story transposed to contemporary times. Baz Luhrmann took Romeo and Juliet to Mexico in 1996 and that worked very well, because they kept the spirit of Shakespeare’s original. Hopefully we’re doing the same.
HK: What is the local English-language theater scene like? Is it doing well, relative to the Chinese-language scene?
CM: The local English-language theater scene is thriving! There is a lot of English-language community and amateur theater in Hong Kong, and just this month the English theater awards [The Hecklers] were held. It is getting much more organized and attracting much more attention, and from what I can tell, Chinese-language theater is growing quickly as well. I’ve seen them do a range of stage productions to highly positive critical acclaim, and I find their interpretation of Western plays and the way they stage them very innovative.
HK: What sorts of obstacles does the theater community in Hong Kong face?
SJO: Stage productions in Hong Kong find it difficult to get support from the population, who are not yet in tune to this particular art scene. It’s a huge challenge just getting people to go to the theater.