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The romantic comedy "Truly I Do", last staged in 2002, will be re-run by Drama Gallery in October, with Judy Chu, Andy Tang, Gladys Liu, Rensen Chan, Brenda Chan and Matthew Cheng as the main cast.
In a flash, Jean the new bride's mind strays beyond the bounds of propriety at the prompting of catalytic piano music, and she has a vague feeling of being in love with someone else. Just then, Ho the groom, whose bride is the target of someone else's head-over-heels affections, suddenly asks whether he can still go on loving after he gets over his hangover. A huge piano has arrived in the miniscule home of the newly-wed couple, interfering with everyday routines and upsetting the couple's rhythm. Piano teacher Donald Mak's overflowing artistic aura keeps circling in Jean's heart; whose bride has he actually fallen in love with? Driven by the nosy meddling of Ida the medium and the power of the supernatural, newly-wed bliss turns into newly-wed woes as everything spins totally out of control.
But Ida also has her own problems to deal with: her boyfriend Yan has got into the habit of proposing, and his infatuation with her attests to the truth of the adage "Even the smelly offering of a pig's head may please a god with a blocked nose". With her granddaughter in trouble, Jean's grandmother comes to her rescue, but will the old lady's 50-year-old sutra of love still hold? Six persons meet at love's crossroads. Love has always known only its beginnings, but as for the endings? We'll just have to wait and see.
This comedy is an early work from director Yu Hon-ting. The first version was completed in 1997 and was also presented on stage. A second version of "Truly I Do" was performed in 2002 when Drama Gallery was already in existence. After nine years, can the script stand the test of time? What kind of chemistry will result with a different audience today? In staging this re-run, will the director feel differently toward the issues and personas in the play? In addition, some among the cast, such as Gladys Liu and Rensen Chan, will turn the version from nine years ago on its head. What will it be like now? The answer is something all the audience will be looking forward to finding out.
Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, "Truly I Do" (re-run) (performed in Cantonese) by Drama Gallery will be staged at 8pm from October 28 to 30 (Friday to Sunday), and at 3pm on October 29 and 30 (Saturday and Sunday), at the Theatre, Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre. Tickets priced at $180 and $120 are now available at all 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 available on a first-come, first-served basis). A group booking discount is also available. Please refer to the programme leaflet for details.
For programme enquiries, call 2268 7325 (LCSD) or 2372 9007 (Drama Gallery); for ticketing enquiries call 2734 9009. For credit card telephone bookings, call 2111 5999. Internet bookings are available at www.urbtix.hk. Visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/theatre/000002c3.html (LCSD) or www.dramagallery.com (Drama Gallery) for more information on the programme.
A pre-performance meet-the-artist session (conducted in Cantonese) will be held at 7.30pm on October 7 (Friday) at the AC1, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. For registration, please call 2268 7325. Space is limited; admission is free with priority for performance ticket holders.
Ends/Friday, September 16, 2011
Issued at HKT 10:01
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