City Stage: Hong Kong Playwriting in English

Two Girls from Ngau Tau Kok

Two Girls from NgaoTama Kok Amy Chan and Janet Tam (adapted in English for radio by Jessica Yeung and Jonathan Douglas) Two Girls from Ngau Tau Kok i s first an d foremost a Cantonese-language theatr e hit tha t metamorphosed int o a n unlikely English-languag e succes s fo r Radi o an d Television Hon g Kong's (RTHK ) Worldpla y i n 2003 . Adaptin g th e overwhelmingl y loca l an d ethni c fee l of th e origina l stag e versio n fo r th e les s concret e an d tangibl e audienc e o f internationa l radio might have resulted in the loss of this charming autobiographical drama's authenticity. Fortunately, th e resul t o f th e trans-mediu m an d trans-linguisti c migratio n wa s no t onl y dramatically satisfyin g bu t als o i n som e ways rather illuminating . I n orde r t o compensat e for the evocative visual qualities of the stage set, often wittil y symbolic in its representation of th e Nga u Ta u Ko k district , th e adaptatio n tea m utilize d a suggestiv e mi x o f sound s to creat e th e fee l o f markets , bus y street s an d a whol e communit y i n th e no w defunc t Jordan Valley area of Ngau Tau Kok. Unfortunately, thi s anthology does not have an audio hyperlink — a pity ! The disarming warmth and simplicity of the two eponymous girls' nostalgia-laden, but often humorous, reminiscences is peppered with ironic comments on each other's monologues. In th e openin g descriptio n o f th e modern-da y Nga u Ta u Kok' s slightl y extraterrestria l appearance by one of the girls, the other drily comments that she could not pass for a Martian, 'because Martians don't use hair-gel', to which the other rejoins, 'Ho w do you know?' The play continues in this vein, building up a picture of the lives of two assertive and able thirtysomething females, wit h their monologues, which recount the role of family member s an d significant events in their life history being interspersed with ironical or dry commentary by the other, almost in the manner of a cross-talk show. Notwithstanding, the play is structured thematically o n its monologues and its frank an d remarkably immediate depiction of famil y life in a 200-square-foot public housing flat for six. The play does not pull any punches about the harshness of condition in the late 1960s and 1970s for recent immigrants and refugees fro m the Mainland, and it reminds us that the much-vaunted 1970s public housing scheme in Hong Kong, though a necessary solution to the squatter area problems, was no panacea. Recounted with wit, warmth and a notable absence of self-pity, the interwoven personal narratives of these friends ar e candid, but never mawkish. J's beloved granny comes alive in our imagination as a figure, chasing her grand-daughter down the corridor, bowl of rice in hand, trying to persuade her to stop playing long enough to eat her dinner. 'Luckily , she didn't have her feet bound ' reflects J, apropos of the customary treatment of earlier generations of women in China. 'Jus t as well,' quips A, 'o r how could she have chased you down the corridor with a bowl of rice in her hand!' Two Girls from Ngau Tau Kok i s a n ap t choic e fo r thi s anthology , becaus e i t offer s us ver y fundamental , loca l insight s int o th e Hon g Kon g lifestyle , i n whic h th e Da i Pa i Dong an d th e Ts a Tsaan Ten g (type s o f Hon g Kong-styl e cafes) , no t t o forget th e publi c housing environment, are common to the experience of average Hong Kongers. Hong Kong may o r ma y no t b e a 'worl d city' , a s the Tourist Boar d publicit y sloga n put s it , bu t Two Girls from Ngau Tau Kok reminds us, by dramatizing people' s lif e storie s with technique s 108 Hon g Kong Identity developed i n liv...