Face
Face Veronica Needa Face was first performed i n 199 8 in Cantonese at the McAulay Studio Theatre in the Hong Kong Arts Centre . Th e Cantones e premier e wa s swiftl y followe d b y th e firs t Englis h performance at the Hong Kong Fringe Club a month later, and subsequent revivals have been popular and critically acclaimed. Both performances were given under the auspices of locally founded theatre company No Man's Land and with the direction and design of Tang Shu-wing, whose theatrical know-how and aesthetic awareness is held in high esteem in Hong Kong. The simple but effectively economica l set of an upstage screen, a chair and side-table, and a handful of essential props lends fluidity to the proceedings. Attention is focused on the variously playful and witty , wistfull y nostalgi c o r soberl y reminiscen t episode s recounte d b y Veronic a concerning her own Eurasian origins and childhood in a Hong Kong characterized by binary opposition i n the matter o f cultur e an d ethnicity , i n spit e of the living proof s o f alterity . Technically adroit in framing Veronica's personal tale against a wider socio-political backdrop, director Tang allows the strength of the writing and the warmth of the personality to spea k for themselves. Needa's lively — almost hyperactive — mixed-code dialogue in places also helps to provide an authentic Hong Kong flavour . Gradually, thi s wider perspective i s glimpsed partl y throug h the documentary image s projected on the screen, as we come to realize that Veronica's personal tale is symbolic of an entire marginalized ethni c group. The moving climax is achieved as Veronica recounts th e heroism of the Eurasian volunteers who gave their lives against impossible odds fighting the invading Japanese at Wong Nei Chung Gap. She quotes from two poems, one from a Eurasian doctor, who survived: Tn the peaceful evenings, who'll remember them? / Only the stars will their nightly vigil keep, / Only the sighing pines will chant their requiem', and the other, from a poem by her older cousin: Th e ba t is like a rat and a bird, / During the day it lives in an ancient temple, / By night it enters the forest, / Who knows the bitterness of the bat, / Within the body of a mouse it has the heart of a bird.' The overriding but gracefully conveye d theme of the whole is summarize d b y he r reflection: 'M y fac e overwhelm s m y identity again. ' Pervasively potent throughout this complex and rich solo piece-d-these ar e two symbols: the dwarf of ostracism and the dragon of hybridity, and the conclusion of the play is a passionate plea for seeing beyond the face, a timely reminder to the community at large, not just to the power elite. (The first performance was on 31 October 1998, in Cantonese, at the McAulay Studio Theatre, presented as part of the Hong Kong Arts Centre's FESTIVAL NOW. The first performances in English were in early December, same year, at the Hong Kong Fringe Club.) Stage Preset: Scree n upstage centre; Frame 2' downstag e o f this with bamboo scree n down; chair and side table at mid-stage left; tea set of 7 cups/saucers and teapot filled wit h hot tea on prayer mat downstage centre. Two candles lit one on either sid e of prayer mat . Candles lit throughout and calculated to burn out at the end of the show. Face 2 5 Props preset: Little car/glasses/newspaper article behind frame.Dragon puppet in big bag at extreme stage right. Jewellery box on side table with tow chai — Chinese hair ornament — inside. (After FOH clearance) (V enters stage, stands behind frame,lit fromabove, visible through bamboo screen) (V says prayer in Cantonese) Ngo jeung yi ha ge to mun soong bay ngo ge seen yun Gum jeh nay-day ling ngo ling leuk doh, nay-day ge yung hay, seen leung, yeet sing, rung mai seung jeung lik Yik gum jeh nay-day ling ngo ming bak doh, ho kay sum kay sut haih yun-leui deui kow-jee ge keung leet yuk mohng Gum jeh nay-day ling ngo jee doh, nay-day yik hai jo fung yik ging jee-jung ch'ung-ging fu n lo gwo tung-mai bay seung gwo Gum...
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