Martin Booth’s Hong Kong Memoir ‘Gweilo’ Returns to Stage

Description

This critically acclaimed stage show is based upon Booth’s 2004 book, which shows the city through the eyes of a boy whose father had been posted here in the early 1950s. It details his observations as he wanders through the streets of old Kowloon, witnessing Shek Kip Mei’s crowded squatter area as it is ravaged by fire, learns Cantonese by befriending market traders and coolies, and explores the now-mythical Kowloon Walled City.

Booth penned Gweilo in 2002 after learning he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died shortly after finishing his memoir.

The play is created by Pants Theatre Production’s artistic director Wu Hoi Fai and French-Finnish actor Micah Sandt, who performs all of the characters in the show. The stage adaptation also features musicians stirring up an atmospheric mood, while a satchel, a classic old china bowl and a few other choice props recreate the feeling of times past.

Gweilo is performed in English and Cantonese with bilingual subtitles.

Click here to read our 2016 feature on the play.