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The play "8 Femmes" will be staged by Theatre Space in June. The theatre work was written by French writer Robert Thomas and was adapted into a film in 2002. The film was awarded the Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution in the 52nd Berlin International Film Festival and received 12 nominations in the 28th César Award in France.
The story takes place on a Christmas Eve in the 1950s in France. A large family in a secluded grand mansion is celebrating happily until the master of the family is found murdered. All eight women in the mansion, who are all closely linked to the deceased, are suspects. There is the elegant middle-class wife who has had a precarious on-and-off relationship with her husband; the wife's spinster younger sister, mean but secretly enamoured of her brother-in-law; the man's paraplegic mother-in-law, whose wealth in stocks and shares could guarantee a comfortable life in her old age; the two lovely daughters, one an avid reader of detective stories and the other a chic returnee from school in Britain; the master's sister, a former striptease queen who can twist men round her little finger; and, finally, the two maids, one a loving motherly figure for the children and the other nonchalant and coquettish. One out of the eight is the killer. All have their own agendas and guard their own positions, and all are anxious to expose one another's dark secrets. With scene after scene of humour-filled situations, the story sees the whole lot edge closer to uncovering the truth, which may prove too much for them to bear.
The play is directed and translated by Jacob Yu while the producer is Bee Wan. Isaac Wong is the set designer, Stoa Lau is the sound designer, Edmond Wong is the costume designer and Victor Tong is the make-up and image designer. The main cast includes Au Ka-man, Tse Yuet-mei, Brenda Chan, Annie Ling, Anna Lo, Man Sui-hing, Cherry Au Yeung and Che Che Cheung.
Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), "8 Femmes" (performed in Cantonese) will be staged at 7.45pm on June 12 to 14 (Thursday to Saturday) and at 2.45pm on June 14 and 15 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Theatre of Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre. Tickets priced at $180 and $120 are now available at URBTIX outlets, on the Internet and by credit card telephone booking. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for full-time students and CSSA recipients are available on a first-come, first-served basis). A maximum discount of 20 per cent is offered for the group booking package, please refer to programme leaflets for details.
There will be a post-performance talk after each performance.
This programme contains smoking scenes. For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7325 (LCSD) or 2540 1011 (Theatre Space), or visit
www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/theatre/program_546.html or www.theatrespace.com . For ticketing enquiries, please call 3761 6661. For credit card telephone booking, please call 2111 5999, and for Internet bookings, please visit www.urbtix.hk .
Ends/Friday, April 25, 2014
Issued at HKT 10:00
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