ENG-1988 — Page 28

16

STATE OF THE ARTS

The dimensions of the cultural scene can thus be perceived and there is a growing cacophony of sound to be heard from the tangled branches of this jungle - some delightful, some discordant, but all adding up to a distinctively Hong Kong cultural blend. Nor are the words and music to be heard, and the images to be seen, all foreign creations and compositions. Beethoven, Brahms, Shakespeare, Shaw, Verdi and Wagner all have their place, but many are the works of Hong Kong writers, musicians composers and choreographers.

As literature is the basis for all performing arts, let's begin there. Hong Kong writers vary from good to mediocre, and their themes range from the historical romances of Louis Cha, publisher of the Ming Pao Daily News, and fellow writers, Yick Shu and Ngai Hong, all read widely in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, to the novels (in English) of Timothy Mo, the varied works of Austin Coates, and the scatter of historical potboilers and contempor- ary cliffhangers by various transient expatriates. There is no shortage of writers but quality is another matter. T. L. Tsim, Publisher of the Chinese University Press and for many years a press columnist, agrees with the writer Jan Morris, that the meeting of two great cultures has produced nothing of significance, either in literature or the arts.

He recalls John Osborne's writing in Britain, of the generation growing up in the aftermath of World War II, having lost an empire yet unable to discover a new role; Tsim has not seen any writing to match the style, depth and challenge of Osborne in Hong Kong. Today there are avant garde dramatists experimenting with form and content, but some have great problems with dialogue and there are many flaws in the experimental theatre. However, he feels, 'they are starting to come together. There are rumblings. I don't know whether they will flourish, but this is an age which should bring forth great literature'. Apart from Xi Xi in Taiwan, however, he has not read ‘anything that is really worth the name of literature'. One reason is that it does not pay to be a writer because the outlets and the rewards are too limited, with print runs of about 5 000 copies and royalties of about $3 a copy. However, under him, the Chinese University Press has extended its traditional role of an academic publisher of scholarly works to provide opportunities for new, younger writers. The financial rewards, however, remain too small to encourage professional writers and a far greater blossoming of the cultural scene will have to take place to make it possible for writers to survive on their literary efforts.

There are today not only playwrights who translate works in English to Chinese, ranging from Shakespeare to Stoppard and Beckett, but also some who adapt existing plays to a local setting, with Hong Kong idiom, and others who write on themes of our times, including that tantalising date, 1997. There are musicians scoring for the Chinese Orchestra (and even for the Philharmonic), as well as for films and television, and there are dancers choreographing for local ballet groups. There are growing opportunities for the best composers and writers to see their work produced, with more than 50 major dramatic productions on the live stage last year and more than 100 different groups staging performances, not to mention the openings in television and radio.

Indeed such is the demand for stages that many groups are unable to arrange venues or are offered time slots that are inadequate to make the production worthwhile, or where dress rehearsals have to be held at other venues without a full stage setting, props and lighting. Particularly is this so at the time of major festivals which are occurring with increasing frequency.

The biggest event for Western culture is the International Arts Festival, which has been held each year with increasing support and consistently high standards since 1972. The first festival, organised by the late Ian Hunter, enlisted some of the greatest artistic names, such