After Yu’s mother passes away, he finds himself racked with guilt and self-doubt – could he have taken taking better care for her when she was still alive? One day, still struggling with guilt and grief, he encounters a young version of his mom. Is this a chance to start anew? Or should we change before our actions turn into regret?
bc spoke to Feel the Pulse about their new Cantonese drama Treasure which walk’s down memory lane on a journey of reflection exploring the meaning of family ties, while offering a reminder of how unconditional love can fill up our hearts.
Where did the idea/concept behind Treasure come from?
The story idea came from the personal experience of the playwright Roney. “I lost my mother last year and that was the worst period of time so far in my life. But I was unbelievably calm and tough instead of collapsing and crying all the time. It was not just because I have to stay rational to handle a lot of issues but there was also a voice in my heart asking me to be strong because my mother would like me to carry on and live happily,” said Roney. “I can still remember how was it like during those days and it was just beyond words. Therefore I would like to express those feelings through a story and a drama seems to be the best way to present them.”
How has the original idea evolved and changed to become Treasure?
“Writing a drama is not like writing a diary. I have to show more thought for the audiences than myself. Therefore I must need to be sensible – despite that there are some surreal elements – and an attractive story to carry all the feelings that I want to share,” said Roney. “Writing the script for this piece required me to express all the true feelings in my heart and it was like showing all my weaknesses to everybody. It was hard and that is why the script went through a few versions before the final one came out. At the beginning I was scared to expose too much because I was not brave enough to face my true thoughts. But after being encouraged by my partners, I really tried to sit down and think of what I have gone through. And finally I was able to show everything I have in my mind.”
Why did you decide to create a trailer and release a theme song?
The main reason of doing this is to further attract peoples attention. Through video and music, our potential audiences are able to catch a glimpse of the drama, know the theme, taste the mood. Besides, we believe that video and music are stronger than text and printing materials in terms of drawing attention and arousing awareness. We would like to highly recommend the theme song Meet You Some Other Day to everyone as it was produced by a group of very talented musicians and songwriters. The song was composed by Eddy To and the lyrics are written by Green Tea based on the true story of Roney.
Can Hong Kong’s traditional values survive both modern society and the attempts to mainlandise our city?
We have experienced the best of Hong Kong and it is already in our minds. Therefore no matter how our home changes, the beautiful things will not be destroyed. Yet we have the responsibility to protect the remaining ones and tell the next generations how wonderful our home can be and what they deserve to have.
Why did you call your group Feel The Pulse?
We have to calm down and concentrate to feel our pulse. And we have to do the same if we want to feel life. Hongkongers are too busy to stop and think what they truly want in their lives. Therefore we hope to encourage people to slow down a bit, listen to the voice in their hearts and figure out what they truly deserve in their lives.
What pulse are you looking to tap into?
Self-consciousness. Most Hongkongers have closed their senses. They do not feel. They lock their true emotions and have lost the meaning of life. Therefore what we trying to do – including through our first drama production last year and our first concert in March, which shared the same objective – is to awaken people from their treadmill lives, to remember who they are and experience the brightside of the world.
Will you add English surtitles so that non-Cantonese speakers can enjoy the show?
We really hope that we can do it one day to further expand our audience base. Yet at this stage we are not able to do that. We still welcome everyone to come and enjoy the show regardless of how good their Cantonese is, as we believe that the atmosphere, emotions, feelings and messages in the show are all beyond words.
Cast
鄧學良 Tang Hok Leung
黎苓妃 Jordana Lai
謝淑芬 Tse Shuk Fun
陳修鳴 Chan Sau Ming
呂樂欣 Loo Lok Yan
李佩貞 Crystal Lee Pui Ching
葉夏珠 Yip Ha Chu
黃韻怡 Wong Wan Yee
謝億文 Tse Yik Man
唐慧卿 Selina Tng
賴仲燊 Lai Chung San
莊子恒 Chong Tsz Hang
黃穎藍 Wong Wing Lam Coda
Director: 何繼紳 Ho Kai San; 陳致榮 Chan Chi Wing Roney
Playwright: 陳致榮 Chan Chi Wing Roney
Treasure
Feel Your Pulse
Date: 5-7 August, 2016
Venue: Kwai Tsing Theatre, Black Box Theatre
Tickets: $160 from Urbtix
More info:
In Cantonese