A love for theatre

WE HAVE heard of Malaysia-born talents making inroads into the film or music industries overseas, but it’s rare indeed to hear of one shaking up the international theatre scene.
Lawrence Ong, 42, is one of those rare exceptions. The Malaysian thespian is making his presence felt in Taiwan with a starring role in the play For Samuel Beckett 110.
The play will be staged at Taiwan’s prestigious Guling Street Avant-garde Theatre from April 28 to May 1.
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) was an Irish playwright known for his dark comedies. The play is essentially in honour of his contributions to the growth of English literature.
In a telephone interview from Taipei, Ong says: “[The play] is about illegal immigration, and I play the role of an immigration officer who is very discriminating, but it is eventually revealed that he is an illegal immigrant himself.
“It is about how we somehow ironically treat our own people more harshly than other people, so that we can distance ourselves from them.”
The story is set in no particular place, but Ong says it is inspired by the situation between Hong Kong and China.
Ong’s journey into Taiwan’s theatre world began when he received a scholarship from the prestigious Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA).
He recalls: “I was studying communications in the US. Several years ago, I was invited to study acting, and I wanted to be a bilingual or trilingual actor.
“I thought I needed to improve and brush up on my Mandarin. Even though I was Chinese-educated, my Mandarin was getting rusty.
“I ended up getting a full scholarship to do a masters programme at TNUA, which is their top acting school. That is what brought me here.”
Ong’s first professional Mandarin-language play was called Pre-Paradise, Sorry Now, in which he played the lead role of Ian Brady under French director Franck Dimech in November 2012.
Ong was then signed up by Taiwan’s prestigious Greenray Theatre in 2014, while still in training as an actor and in the midst of completing his Master of Fine Arts in Acting.
“The contract was to play the lead in the production adapted from The Only Game in Town, originally an American play. We toured around Taiwan.
“I strongly believe that the opportunity helped me hone my acting craft. It also opened a lot of doors for me as an actor as the audition process was tough and competitive – and landing a major role in a major theatre company was a real honour for a new and aspiring actor like myself.”
Ong went on to become the only actor from Southeast Asia to have been cast in last year’s Hong Kong-based production of Dreams of the Red Chamber by the Edward Lam Dance Theatre production company.
He also starred in the English-language Venus in Fur (2015). “It was one of the few locally-produced English plays ever staged in Taiwan,” he says.
“It was also part of our efforts to stimulate the English theatre market in Taiwan, and diversify the arts and culture scene.”
Ong thinks his penchant for doing plays in different languages has to do with him hailing from Kelantan and being passionate about his multilingual, multicultural background.
He says the entertainment industry is growing and being bilingual in English and Mandarin is helpful.
“In China, there are a couple of English plays staged in Beijing and Shanghai. So it is a growing market.”
At present, Ong is not part of any theatre company. “There are no plans to be attached to a specific theatre group.
“In addition, I also act in short films, and am preparing for my first full-length feature film project in China. So I prefer having more freedom to do projects that I like.
“I’m [also] working separately to act in and promote a few short films, writing a screenplay, in talks for an English play, and raising fund to produce another play.
“Another plan is to bring an English acting/theatre project to Southeast Asia this year. Hopefully, it will include Malaysia.”