Olivia Yan and Karena Lam

HK Magazine: The play is written by playwright Candace Chong. How did she approach you to direct it, Olivia?
Olivia Yan: We didn’t know each other personally, but had seen each other’s work. I remember she called me when I was driving, and I was very surprised and had to pull over. The next day we got together and discussed the play. For my directorial work, I either reinterpret classics or write my own original scripts, so I’ve hardly worked with any local playwrights. But it turned out that we share a mutual interest in humanity, which the play is about, so we easily found common ground.

HK: Karena, how did you get on board?
Karena Lam: Olivia and I have a master-apprentice relationship. Back in 2002, I won Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer at the Hong Kong Film Awards for my first film. Although I was so inexperienced, people were very impressed by what I did. It all came quite effortlessly, which actually put a lot of stress on me because I had a very strong awareness that I wasn’t doing my best, but didn’t know how to improve—so by my sixth or seventh film I started to have this fear on set. So then I went to an actor’s workshop by Jim Chim (renowned stage actor and comedian) to polish my skills. Through that experience, I got to know Olivia (Chim’s wife) and we became good friends. I did my first stage play with her in 2006. When I came back to Hong Kong from Canada, Olivia visited me and asked me to take part in the play. The script wasn’t done yet at the time, but I had so much respect and trust in Olivia I just said yes on the spot.

HK: Coming from a film background, how do you find theater?
KL: Oh, technically it’s really difficult. With film, actors are not in the editing room in the end, so the movie often comes out to be different than you expected. And with theater, you have to open up to a live audience all while working with your fellow actors, so you need to have all your antennas out. Also, with film, there’re microphones that can pick up the slightest sound, while in a theater actors need to project loudly even when they’re telling a secret. It was a little weird for me at first, but it’s something I’ve adjusted to after practice.

HK: Among the lead cast, you have TV actor Wong Chi-wah, film actor Karena and dancer Abby Chan. Was it difficult for you to direct them on the same stage?
OY: It was a challenge to have actors from different backgrounds, but essentially you just have to know to utilize different channels and languages to communicate. For example, Chi-wah needs to know everything about the story and his character; he likes long discussions. Whereas for Karena, if we discuss too much it’s going to mess with her head. And then we have Abby, who’s a dancer, so literal words don’t work on her as well as abstract concepts. I’d say things to her like, “I’d like you to be a ‘storm’ today.” If I said that to Chi-wah, he’d be like “What on earth are you talking about?!” [Laughs.] In the end, it’s been an absolute joy directing a cast that’s so talented and mature.

HK: “Wild Boar” finishes on Feb 19. What’s next for both of you?
OY: Before “Wild Boar” I was in Singapore directing a play based on Lu Xun’s “The True Story of Ah Q” (a novella written in 1921). We pick up from the end of the original story, Ah Q’s death, and imagine what happens afterwards. It’s called “The Story after Ah Q.” It has played in Singapore and is going to be staged in Taiwan and Hong Kong later this year, which I’m excited about.
KL: I’m going to go back to Canada and my life as a full-time mom [laughs]. This play is a special case for me since Olivia is a mother too so she’s very understanding of my schedule, which revolves around my infant daughter. My daughter is the most important thing for me so I’m going to focus on her right now.

“Wild Boar” plays at HKAPA till Feb 19. Performed in Cantonese with English surtitles.