The director of the Macau Cultural Centre’s (CCM)) first stage performance of the year, “Constellations”, Wong Chong, told The Macau Post Daily yesterday that the show was based on the multi-universe theory that was inspired by people’s regrets and possibilities.
During the interview at the Macau Cultural Centre, Wong said that about five years ago he received a script that was written and produced by a British playwright called Nick Payne. He said that the play is a love story that tells 50 possibilities of that relationship with humour and tragedy.
What if
Wong admitted that he is a believer of the multi-universe theory because he said having regrets from the past and imagination for the future is the charm of human beings.
“Sometimes I think to myself what if I did not study law but took the offer to study Computer Science in Hong Kong instead. What if I did not become a director but an academic instead? The ‘what ifs’ are the reason that I believe in the existence of a multi-universe,” Wong said
Wong said that during the performance it shows different combinations of parallel universes, for example there are five possibilities on the couple’s encounter, and four possibilities of what happens at the bar. He said the show uses 13 cameras to demonstrate 50 universes with no camera person.
“This performance is presented on the stage and on the screen. It is a multimedia piece of art that blurs the lines between stage performances and movies,” Wong said.
Without a camera person, the actors dance around the camera on the stage, Wong said. He added that there is a hamster at the centre of the stage running on his wheel.
“The hamster represents the god of time that can control the multi-universes. Every time we switch to another possibility, we will focus on the hamster running on the wheel. It even has its own camera,” Wong said while giggling.
A love story for everyone
When asked who are the target audience members for the show, Wong said this show is open to everyone.
“After all this is a love story. You watch it as a general love story or you can decipher the meaning of art or you can even contemplate the meaning of multimedia. This show is for everyone,” Wong said.
He pointed out that this is the first time that Chinese and English subtitles are being used for the performance. He said this shows the special characteristic of Macau – a place where the East meets West.
Faith & Trust
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cultural Centre took an almost one-year hiatus, coming back strong with Wong’s Constellation. When asked what he felt about being the first show presented in 2021, he summaries it in two words “faith” and “trust”.
Wong’s company, Theatre du Reve Experimental, is a Beijing based company. He said that when he was entering Macau, he realised the significance of the performances.
“It represents the faith and trust of the people. The novel coronavirus brought a lot of doubts and mistrust between communities, governments and countries. However, leaving our hometown and being able to enter Macau shows the trust between the two governments,” Wong said.
He said that even though his team had to do a lot of preparation before arriving in Macau and there is a risk that his team need to quarantine during Chinese New Year when they go back, everything would still be worth it being able to perform on stage.
“There was a recent article that said in the mainland over 1,000 shows and performances have been cancelled this January and February. One of our shows in Foshan was cancelled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Some of us did panic about the situation but at the end we acknowledge the preciousness of being able to be on stage,” Wong said. The performances are Friday and Saturday 7:45 p.m.
This undated handout photo provided by the Macau Cultural Centre (MCC) shows a scene of “Constellation” being presented on stage and on screen.
Constellation Director Wong Chong poses in the centre of the stage at Macau Cultural Centre in Nape yesterday.
Photo: Prisca Tang
