From January 3 to 5, 2025, Hong Kong Repertory Theater's "The First Floor in the World" will be performed at the Tianqiao Arts Center in Beijing.
Most viewers are familiar with "The First Floor in the World" from Beijing People's Art Theatre. This classic work, written by the famous screenwriter He Jiping, tells the story of the ups and downs of a time-honored roast duck brand called Fujude during the Republic of China. This drama has been a long-lasting performer since its premiere in 1988. It is considered a masterpiece of contemporary realist drama and has won many awards including the "Wenhua Award", the Ministry of Culture's highest honor for drama, and the "Cao Yu Award" for Chinese drama literature. For more than thirty years, "The First Floor in the World" has been invited to perform in many countries and regions in Europe, America and Asia, and has been adapted into a TV series.
Stills from Hong Kong Repertory Theater's "The World's First Floor"
Having seen a lot of Peking duck, people are curious about the flavor of the "Hong Kong-style Peking Duck" presented in Hong Kong.
He Jiping, the screenwriter of "The First Floor in the World", moved to Hong Kong in the 1990s. Over the years, he has been writing in the Hong Kong drama and film and television circles, and served as the resident screenwriter of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. The theater also staged her "De Works such as "The Age of Empress Dowager Cixi", "Good Business Opening", "Sour and Sweet Hong Kong Land", etc.
The director of the Hong Kong version of "The First Floor in the World" is Szeto Hui-chuo. She has served as the resident director of the Hong Kong Repertory Theater. Over the years, she has directed "Dear Hu Xueyan", "It's All the Dragon Robe's Trouble" and "De Ling and Cixi". "(Mainland version) and many other well-known works.
"The First Floor in the World" is a character drama, one of the most important characters is Lu Mengshi. When the time-honored roast duck restaurant "Fujude" run by the family in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China encountered internal and external troubles and the business was in jeopardy, Lu Mengshi relied on his courage , saved "Fujude" from decline. The drama focused on his wisdom in dealing with the troubles caused by local gangsters outside and the seizure of power by the second young master of the Tang family.
The role of Lu Mengshi has been played by many outstanding actors. These include veteran Renyi actor Tan Zongyao, Yang Lixin, Liu Hui and now Wang Lei, etc. Each actor gave this role new life and connotation according to his own understanding and performance style.
Poster
What is most worth looking forward to is that the actor who plays Lu Mengshi in this Hong Kong version of "The World's First Floor" is Golden Horse Best Actor Tse Junhao .
The audience in Beijing may have met Tse Junhao in the theater. In 2016, Hong Kong Repertory Theater's classic masterpiece "Thirteen Sons of the South China Sea" was staged at the Tianqiao Arts Center in Beijing. The crazy and tragic Jiang Yuli played by Tse Junhao left a deep impression on the audience at the time.
In the past two years, you can occasionally see a mix of his characters appearing in small circles on social media platforms, some of which have reached millions of views. Whether it is the unrestrained Jiu Jianxian in "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" or the "Thirteenth Son" Jiang Yuliu who gave people a "beautiful look", they have been mentioned again by the audience, and many netizens praised him for bringing unique charm and temperament to the characters. , calling him the "relict pearl of the uncle's circle".
Stills from Hong Kong Repertory Theater's "The World's First Floor"
Looking back at Tse Kwan-ho's acting career, he joined the Hong Kong Repertory Theater in 1989 after graduating from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts . In just 4 years, the 30-year-old Tse Kwan-ho became the youngest principal actor in the history of the Hong Kong Repertory Theater. Also in this year, Tse Junhao starred in the drama "Thirteen Langs of the South China Sea". This work established his position in the Hong Kong drama industry and became his most famous masterpiece. In 1997, "Thirteen Sons of the South China Sea" was adapted for the big screen, and he won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor for his role as Jiang Yuxi.
It is reported that the other actors in the Hong Kong version of "The First Floor" are also talented actors from the Hong Kong Repertory Theater. Hong Kong Repertory Theater was founded in 1977 under the leadership of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. It is the oldest and largest professional theater company in Hong Kong. Over the past forty-seven years, nearly 500 plays have been produced, establishing the influence of the flagship theater company. According to the Tianqiao Art Center, these actors will jointly present a wonderful performance to the audience through vivid character creation and superb acting skills.
Tianqiao Art Center said that the Hong Kong version of "The First Floor" follows the original script and still presents the original classic plot.Apart from the conversion of Mandarin lines into Cantonese, there are no other changes. There are Mandarin subtitles in the theater to facilitate audiences who do not understand Cantonese to watch the show.
Cantonese lines have a sense of rhythm due to their rich tones and syllables, which add a pleasant and hearty flavor to the whole play. Mainland audiences will also have a different charm when listening to it; the actors' handling of some specific plots, It also has the humor factor of Hong Kong-style comedy.
It is reported that the Hong Kong Repertory Theater's Cantonese drama "The First Floor", the closing drama of the 2024 Tianqiao Drama Show, will be performed at the Tianqiao Arts Center Grand Theater in Beijing from January 3 to 5, 2025, and tickets will be released in the near future.
