How music and sounds add extra dimension to ‘twisted’ fairy tale of Red Riding Hood and hungry wolf
- Hong Kong’s Theatre de la Feuille’s latest production ‘Mad Men (Irregular Version)’, part of November’s ArtSnap at ninth New Vision Arts Festival
- Music designer Heidi Law explains how she uses sound to set the tone of a play
This article is part of a weekly series that dives deep into the small things that add character to our city, enrich our culture and make our lives beautiful.
Five performers are lying face down on the stage.
As a flowing, fairy-tale melody sets in – conjuring up the image of an enchanted forest – one of the performers raises her head and starts telling the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
“One day, mummy told me to visit grandma who is sick. I saw a big grey wolf on my way. He asked me where I was going and I told him. Together we went to Grandma’s place ...”
Then comes a sound of chewing, which is out of sync with the pleasant-sounding melody. Something odd is happening. But what is it?
The chewing grows louder and more disturbing and, before long, the girl yells: “The wolf has devoured Grandma …”
Silence falls. All that can be heard is the girl saying: “… and me too!”
Music and sounds build the mood of a play, which is evident from this scene taken from Mad Man (Irregular Version), the latest work by Hong Kong-based Theatre de la Feuille featured at November’s ArtSnap, during the ninth New Vision Arts Festival.
