THE MEMORANDUM
11, 12/5｜Saturday, Sunday｜8pm
12/5｜Sunday｜3pm
Old Court Building
Tickets: MOP 100
Co-Directors: Hui Koc Kun and Lou Wai I
Playwright: Václav Havel
Performers: Ng Ka Wai, Cheang Kim Lon, Chu Weng Sam, Bobby Leong, Lau Wan Fong, Lei Sio Sang, José Chan Rodrigues, Vong Weng Chon, Cheang Ka Hou, Tong Weng Hong, Ieong Lai Hong, Chen Zhanpeng, et al.
A renowned playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and the first president of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel led a legendary life. For this year’s Macao Arts Festival, his famous work The Memorandum receives a special, local staging. The play, originally set in Eastern Europe, relies on a unique theatrical style to satirise interpersonal communications within a large company, thereby commenting on issues related to the frailty of human nature. In this re-imagined production, Havel’s work will reflect the impetuous traits and herd instinct of modern people in Macao society, challenging the audience to ponder issues close to home – between laughs.
The plot begins with the director of an unnamed organisation who receives a written memorandum in a new, artificial language designed by the organisation itself to break down communication barriers between staff members and more accurately pass on their superior’s instructions. The language, however, is confusing and unsystematic, making it difficult to translate and understand. Staff members resist, obey, muddle along, rat on each other and indulge in short-lived pleasures, triggering a series of absurd and quirky disputes.
The play is performed in Cantonese in an innovative translation that allows the work’s dark comedy to instantly strike a chord with the audience.
Duration: approximately 2 hours, including one interval
Script provided courtesy of
© Václav Havel´s Estate c/o Aura-Pont s.r.o., Prague, Czech Republic
