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SCUD 雲翔 | A RETROSPECTIVE (2008-2017)

Film

Notorious Hong Kong filmmaker Scud (writer, director, producer, and often subject of his movies) has been shocking Hong Kong and the world since 2008 with his queer, openly sexual films, and picking up a slew of awards along the way. Scud’s world is free of taboo, free of clothes, and free of anyone without 0% body fat. Here’s The Prickle’s deep dive into Scud’s filmography.

City Without Baseball 無野之城 (2008)

Scud’s award-laden debut is probably his finest work, and his least explicitly pornographic. A based-on-true-stories homoerotic biopic of the doomed Hong Kong baseball team (the least popular sport in Hong Kong), this film stars the actual team members — none of whom are actors — all playing themselves. What sounds like a recipe for disaster is somehow utterly compelling: with a base layer of wacky kitsch, the film sincerely captures the team’s irrepressible passion for the American sport, along with many thought-provoking moments about queerness, suicide, and Hong Kong identity.

Permanent Residence 永久居留 (2009)

Scud’s second movie is autobiographical, following Ivan (Sean Li)’s passionate, non-sexual relationship with troubled and chaotic, heterosexual Windson (Osman Hung). What could be clumsy gay-baiting in the wrong hands comes across here as truthful and finely observed. Even the film’s opening with a brief timeline, from childhood, of Ivan’s rags to riches tale, feels exciting rather than self-indulgent. Even though we know the gay-straight “couple” are doomed to unhappiness, the joy they experience throughout is our joy, too, which makes the tragedy all the more powerful.

Amphetamine 安非他命 (2010)

This film more than mirrors the previous: the set-up and story is the same. However, unlike his counterpart in Permanent Residence, this straight-man-in-love (Byron Pang) is also addicted to using amphetamine, which appears, at first, to offer a way for him to overcome his heterosexuality. Near the start, the straight-gay pair go together to visit an art gallery that is showcasing production shots from Scud’s film Permanent Residence. The swimming instructor explains that he was the model for the production shoot, but not the actor. This playfully meta framing prepares us for a more poetic and hallucinogenic examination of the same biography.

Love Actually… Sucks! 愛很爛 (2011)

Scud plays with audience’s expectations from beginning to end here, with a focus on the absolute most depraved and horrific spectrum of heterosexuality. A humorous wordplay on Love Actually (2003), everything starts as a fast-paced, zany back-and-forth between lots of farcical relationships in heightened reality. But it ends with a lonely murderer (Osman Hung) slowly climbing a mountain and finding a place for his lover’s (Linda So) severed head to rest. Meanwhile, the creeping incest between a brother (Christepher Wee) and sister (Sherry Li) is treated as light comic relief. Utterly bizarre and not for the squeamish.

Voyage 遊 (2013)

The ocean “voyage” of young psychiatrist Ryo (Ryo van Kooten) is a device used to tether together a series of short films shot across Asia, Australia and Europe. Each film retells the story of a young person dying before their time, often by suicide, with real dates and photos of the deceased shown in the credits. The film’s strongest suit is the opening short, “Messengers to the Heaven”, where student Yan (Byron Pang) slowly loses his mind in Inner Mongolia, during Mao’s re-education program. Despite the film’s high death count, what shines through is Scud’s trademark homoeroticism and exuberance for life.

Utopians 同流合烏 (2015)

This is an uncharacteristically crass film for Scud, even with an excellent cast drawing out some sensitive performances. The story revolves around an impossibly hot and wealthy ‘philosophy’ lecturer (Jacky Chow) whose job seems to revolve around wearing his shirt half-open, showing slides of naked men, and talking about how great life was in Ancient Greece. He preys on a naive university student (Adonis He Fei), taking him on lavish sexscapades around the world, until he gets arrested in Thailand for homosexual relations with a 20-year-old. A masturbation scene halfway through is explicitly, simplistically pornographic. The fact that the film reaches for some kind of profound message just makes it all the worse.

Thirty Years of Adonis 三十儿立 (2017)

This is Scud’s most “arthouse” work; highly stylised, and a shift away from straightforward narrative or message. In a signature meta move, the title’s “Adonis” is played by himself (Adonis He Fei), using footage from his lead role in Utopians (2015), but in a cruel and surreal alternate reality. An inscrutable sugar-daddy figure (Justin Lim) guides Adonis — a struggling Beijing opera performer — more and more into the world of sex work, which gets progressively more twisted as the film progresses, to the point of murder. However, the film’s overarching storyline is about karma, samsara, and the meaning of life, with an increasingly cosmic scope as the story continues. Absolutely not for the prudish, yet profoundly spiritual.

Scud is now retired.  Scud’s final movies Apostles (2022), Bodyshop (2022), and Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe are yet to be released.

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PICKLE | London, Park Theatre

Recommended

Two-word summary: it’s Jewish Fleabag. Yes, that world-dominating, award-winning sitcom started as one-hour, one-woman show, too. After captivating audiences during its sold-out performances in May, Pickle returns to the Park Theatre for a two-week run, in this cheeky and authentic exploration of what it means to be a young Jewish woman in London today.

Pickle is written and performed by Deli Segal, produced by Tanya Truman (Confessions of a Rabbi’s Daughter; Tier Three Sisters) and directed by Kayla Feldman (Swimming; Dear Peter), all female Jewish theatre-makers who strive to amplify Jewish voices on stage.

“Pickle is all about one woman’s experience of reconciling belief and tradition with change,” says Deli Segal, writer and performer. “I wanted to tell a story that explores being in the middle of both worlds: the parts that fit together, and the parts that don’t. The vibrancy, the spirit, the richness of culture, the humour of Jewish life – those things often get lost.”

Ari lives at home in North-West London, where her life is dominated by overbearing parents, tradition and expectations. However, her daily life includes her job, going out – and, inevitably, the dating scene. Pickle follows Ari as she tries to balance Friday night dinner with drinks at the pub, JSwipe with Hinge, being Jewish and secular. This uproarious simcha of a one-woman show explores a young Jewish woman’s psyche as she navigates her two contrasting worlds with irreverent humour and heart. Expect smoked salmon, guilt and a large dose of self-deprecation as Pickle brings Ari’s vibrant world to life.

Playing at the Park Theatre 14 – 26 November, 2022.

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THE CONVERT | London, Above The Stag Theatre

Recommended

Ben Kavanagh’s chilling new play explores the resources we need to endure catastrophe through an alternate reality where our greatest fears are endemic and enduring.

***

You said The Convert is the “maddest” thing you’ve ever written. Is it really?

I think so. I mean, it feels very much like a play that exists in an alternate world, both in terms of its actual content, and also its form and structure. There’s only three characters, but there’s constant references to a wider society which gives it this epic feel. It’s also got some pretty dramatic set pieces, but I won’t ruin it with spoilers!

How did the project come about?

The play is part of a larger season at the Above The Stag Theatre — the UK’s only full time LBGTQ+ theatre — called CONTACT, which is essentially a festival of new and challenging work. Each company has been given free rehearsal space and a five-night run to realise their ideas and bring them to the stage. I’m thrilled to be back working with director Gene David Kirk, whose previous work at the Stag has been particularly successful, and with us for the journey are two extremely talented actors in James Phoon and Olly Roy — it’s an exciting prospect going back into the rehearsal room with such a strong team.

Why gay conversion therapy?

In fact, The Convert started life as a monologue in BODY POLITIC. Gene approached me about the season at the Stag in March of 2021, and asked if I had any ideas: I suggested this monologue could have the dramatic potential for expanding into a full-length play. As we chatted, the world of the monologue seemed to blend perfectly with a conversation that was being had in the wider media at the time, the legislating against gay conversion therapy – i.e. the ridiculous time it was taking to ban it!

What can audiences expect on the night?

I know the main thrust of the play is set against the backdrop of conversion therapy, but I think, like all good theatre, at its root, it’s a play about love, and in particular, enduring love. So I’d certainly expect that. As for the rest – well, we’ve not started rehearsals yet, and the entire play could be rewritten after the first day of rehearsals, as is so often the case. So much of the writing process relies on hearing the actors speak the lines, and gaining the insight of the director in how the story is coming together – as a writer, sometimes you are too close to the play to have that kind of perspective. Collaboration breeds a kind of openness in the room that nearly always results in a clearer direction for the story. It’s thrilling! They say good plays aren’t written, they are rewritten; well, if that’s the case then sign me up!

Playing 23 – 27 June 2021 at the Above The Stag Theatre in Vauxhall.

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COMPANY | Hong Kong, Sha Tin Town Hall

Recommended

Sondheim’s groundbreaking 1970 musical comedy is coming to Hong Kong in a brand new Cantonese translation by Jacob Yu and Wong Ming Lok. The musical revolves around Bobby, a single man who is unable to commit fully to a steady relationship — let alone marriage. The five married couples who are his best friends, and his three girlfriends, all come together in a celebration for Bobby’s 35th birthday.

As well as the main translator, Jacob Yu also directs and produces, and set designs too. Stoa Lau is the Music Director and Sound Designer, with lighting by Ivan Chen and costumes by Shybil Yuen, in addition to choreography by Nikki Ng. The cast includes: Amanda Lee, Peco Chui, Andrew Cheung, Beilosi Fung, Margaret Cheung, Sung Boon Ho, Lan Chun Chun, Tunes Ting, SiuLung Wong, Joanna Ko, Billy Yip, Vivian Chan, Tony Li, Terrence Leung.

The original Broadway production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards, and won Best Musical. Many of the songs have passed into musical theatre legend, including: “Being Alive”; “Side By Side” and “You Could Drive A Person Crazy”. The current gender-flipped production in London’s West End is also nominated for many awards.

Don’t miss the chance to experience this hilarious, punchy musical about love and relationships in Cantonese.

Book online at Urbtix until 24 February 2019. Check out Theatre Space’s Facebook page for more information.

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CIRCA | London, Old Red Lion Theatre

Recommended

After premiering with a cast of twelve at the Theatre de Meervaart, Amsterdam in 2016, followed by an acclaimed run with a cast of seven at The Vaults in London, Tom Ratcliffe’s company work.Theatre returns in a co-production with Harlow Playhouse.

“I can’t wait to be bringing Circa back this year for a longer run in London, and then to Harlow,” says Ratcliffe of his debut play. “The play has become even more topical over the past two years, and loneliness amongst the gay community is something that needs to be spoken about. The play has developed over the past two years and it’s something I cannot wait to share with everyone.”

In the 21st century, being gay is supposedly more integrated than ever: marriage is legal, parenthood is possible, and #LoveWins is trending on Twitter. But in a world where sex is readily available, what does it mean to be in a gay relationship in the modern age? And why are so many gay men still lonely?

Circa explores the blurred identity of the gay relationship in the modern age. Following the story of one man’s romantic life, we are taken through the different relationships and encounters he experiences over a period of thirty years, joining him through the joys and pitfalls of love.

Book online at www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk. Tickets from £12.

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INTERVIEW: SARA DEE

Interview

 

Sara Dee has been described as “a hybrid of Patsy Cline and Madeleine Peyroux”. The L.A. based singer-songwriter talked to The Prickle about her new Christmas single, ‘Christmas in California’.

 

How did you get into singing and songwriting?

Sara Dee: Growing up there was always music on in my house — a pretty balanced diet of oldies, rock ‘n’ roll, standards, and classical.  I always gravitated toward music, and as a kid would stay in my room for hours, teaching myself instruments, and analyzing my favourite songs.  So I suppose the singing and songwriting came as a natural part of my obsession with imitating what I admired.

What inspires you to write?

Sara Dee: I love to write about conflict. And love! Really I find inspiration in anything I’m willing to pay close attention to. But conflict and love are pretty powerful motivators.

Who are your musical heroes?

Sara Dee: There’s so many; if I have to make a short list: Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, Beach Boys, Queen, Ella Fitzgerald, Over the Rhine, Lianna LaHavas, Dr. John, Janelle Monet. I mean, I could go on…

Tell us about your new single.

Sara Dee: I wrote ‘Christmas in California’ basically in one sitting, which doesn’t always happen. It was Christmastime; I was on my bed looking out my window; and it looked like summer outside. I felt no ‘holiday spirit’, and honestly, it was kind of sad! I love the subtle rushes of holiday magic, and when I looked around I didn’t see one sign of winter or Christmas. That’s when the lyric, “Christmas is a state of mind”, popped into my brain. From there, I just started thinking about all the imagery of experiencing winter in an endless summer town. And really, the hardest part about that was whittling down which ones to leave in — there are so many! And it was also a great way to pay some hommage to my city of Los Angeles.

What’s next for Sara Dee?

Sara Dee: A couple more singles before the big album in February 2019, In Joy, Vol. 2. It’s my third full-length album, and I’m really excited about it! But first, this is the perfect time of year to check out my Christmas single.

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