Edward Lam’s What is Man? – The Tragedy of Modern Man

Director Edward Lam directing a modern version of The Water Margin? Needless to say, the result is not a traditional folk tale, but a modern play with a humanistic, 21st century approach.

Born in Hong Kong, Edward is a founding member of avant-garde theatre group Zuni Icosahedron as well as the Artistic Director of Edward Lam Dance Theatre. With a portfolio of more than 40 productions, Edward is an iconic figure in the Hong Kong theatre scene.

An approach he often adopts in his work is the setting of modern storylines and mindsets within the framework of classical novels. For example, while Madame Bovary is Me is an adaptation of Gustave Flaubert’s novel, it depicts the sorrow and joy of women in the upper echelons of a consumerist society. Similarly, What is Man? borrows from a Chinese classic, The Water Margin, in its exploration of the concept of the hero in modern man.

The Influence of The Lord of the Rings and Andy Lau
What is Man? is part of a project by Edward Lam in which he reinvents the four great Chinese literary classics. As the Chinese hold these four works in the highest esteem, many directors would feel daunted by the challenge of adapting them for theatre. Edward, however, admits frankly that he was instead inspired by the film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings.
　
He observes that films adapted from novels, such as The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, often feature a new series every year, creating a sense of anticipation among its audience. He says that this was what spurred him to produce something similar for Chinese theatre - the staging of a new theatrical adaptation of one of the four great Chinese classics every year.

“With each instalment, not only would the Chinese audience be filled with anticipation”, says Edward. “We would also be able to view ancient culture through the lens of modern society and discover elements for further fermentation or re-interpretation.”

According to Edward’s plans, What is Man? (2006 - 2007) is the first of his project’s four works, followed by What is Fantasy (on the chinese classic Journey to the West)?, The Romance of Three Kingdoms and The Dream of the Red Chamber. The timing of the productions’ release has great significance for Edward. The year 2007 marks the 100th anniversary of the modern Chinese theatre. 100 years ago, Western theatre arrived in China. Today, the production, What is Fantasy?, gives usthe opportunity to become re-acquainted with ourselves. Next year, the production The Romance of Three Kingdoms will coincide with the release of John Woo’s new film based on the same novel, and hopefully a public fervour for this classic work Three Kingdoms will be ignited.

Interestingly, Edward’s selection of The Water Margin as the first production to kick off the series of adaptations was influenced by movie star Andy Lau. When Edward discussed his plans to bring these four classic novels to the theatre with Andy, the latter expressed keen interest in Edward’s proposal and offered to act in it and plan to release an album on Hero, in conjunction with the production.

Edward’s initial plan was to cast Andy in the role of the Director, a character whose voice the audience hears during the play and whose identity is only revealed when he takes to the stage during the curtain call. Eventually, Andy’s schedule for the film The Warlords excluded him from this production. But the fact that he was a catalyst behind the staging of What’s Man? remains.

Symbols of masculinity in What is Man?
In the original novel, The Water Margin tells the story of a gang of heroes forced by society to retreat to the Liang Mountain (or Liang Shan). In contrast, Edward’s play What is Man? begins with an audition for four actors.

In it, nine participating actors - modelled after heroes from The Water Margin - pit their acting skills against one another in different scenarios during the audition. On the surface, they bond as a band of brothers. But beneath the friendly facade, they secretly plot against one another.

Explains Edward, “the play’s storyline, language and costume are completely different from those of the original work. But we have retained the characterisation in The Water Margin”. He basically conceived What is Man? as an “RPG” or role playing game. To create his characters, he analysed the male characters in the novel, and came up with nine symbols of tragic heroism - Tiger, Wanderer, Precious Weapon, Human Flesh, The Boss, Gambler, Thief, Wine and Lotus - each representing a particular desire and aspect of man.

Says Edward, “In examining these traditional heroes, we discovered that beneath the glorified exteriors lay feelings of anxiety and loss, and the misappropriation of capabilities.” To illustrate his point, Edward gives the example of the character, Wanderer. His Wanderer is Yan Qing, a modern-day surfer who cruises through love and woman with the like how he ride the waves. Seemingly pleased with his popularity among women, he is however, plagued by inner fears. Another example is the character of Lu Zhishen whom Edward depicts as a drunkard lamenting the sorrows of man on quiet streets at three o’clock in the morning.

“Men in this new age are raised by their mothers with the utmost care”, observes Edward. “They display tough facades but are fragile within. When faced with pressures and ordeals, do they conform or escape? Do they rebel individually or do they do so in groups? What sort of pressures would force them to retreat to the proverbial Liang Mountain… What I seek to reveal are these men’s true selves and the pressures they face in life.”

In addition to the masculine symbolism, the play features a classic triad storyline woven into its plot. This is because Edward believes that The Water Margin is the source from which the genre of the triad movie sprang.

“The story in The Water Margin, much like the movie Infernal Affairs, revolves around the theme of brotherhood, and features characters like the Boss and his henchmen”, says Edward. “And its women, like the wives in triad movies, are always sources of temptation and nuisance”.

Reflecting society’s desires
From role-playing games to triad films to male soliloquies, popular elements of today’s society fill Edward’s What is Man.
His cast includes several rising stars from Taiwan such as Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor nominee Joseph Chang (of Eternal Summer fame), film actor Chen Chang’s brother Han Chang, new Peking opera star Sebastien Chien and film/TV comedian David Wang, as well as Pin-Chen Chou (of the film Double Vision), Ying-Shine (of the drama The Magicians of Love), and actors Hung-Chang Chu, Chien-Chang Lee, Hugh Shih, Ethan Wei, Morning Mo and Yu-Lin Ling.

Societal trends in entertainment and burgeoning consumerism are topics that have always fascinated Edward. “Novels are closely tied to society”, he says. “Shi Nai’an (the author of The Water Margin) is actually an editor who has compiled popular folk tales into a work of fiction, so you can think of The Water Margin as being the classic equivalent of today’s Apple Daily. The adaptation of The Water Margin for theatre today necessitates the use of vocabulary and sentence structure commonly used by the general public today, particularly the language of popular culture.”

Edward feels that in this era of thriving consumerism and the internet culture, people have begun losing their sense of individual autonomy. The result is that people have started to seek to define themselves and win approval through avenues such as singing competitions and other platforms in popular culture – a culture that reflects the latent desires of modern man.

Viewing The Water Margin in the context of a social phenomenon, Edward then asks: What is man? How can he find himself?

Edward does not find his approach to theatre sensational or bold. “If my methods seem sensational, it is only because I’ve not adhered to traditional theatre; my work reflects life in all its reality.” As such, his productions are popular with the younger audience, embraced for being attuned to current trends and for raising issues for contemplation.

Edward jokes that “the characters in The Water Margin rebel against royalty and authority, and are inclined to subversion. I will stick to this spirit of subversion in my approach to theatre.”