| Chris Goh Hong Kong Repertory Theatre’s ‘Family Protection Unit’ (家庭保衛隊) was one of the local productions in this year’s Arts Festival. The musical in Cantonese was kicked off by Grandpa Feng’s (played by Chow Chi Fai) ‘dialogue’ with household appliances. The old man’s lament not only reflected his loneliness as an aging man, but also his alienation from this fast-developing city. This mournful blues was brightened up at the end when the Feng family could finally get together after a pseudo-realistic self-discovery ‘battle’ against themselves in the world of household appliances. This musical attempted to establish a symbolic correlation between household appliances and family members. This idea was original and gimmickry, yet more vivid interpretation will be needed. The overt intimacy between Feng Ling played by Lam Siu Po and Dongzhi (‘Air-conditioner’) played by Rosa Maria Velasco was the most successful depiction amongst all the other characters. Or, in other words, no other main characters had such a distinguishable relationship with any household appliances as Ling and Dongzhi did. Not only did the other main characters lack such a close tie, they were also causally embodied as a kind of household appliances with no further references in the story. The audience could understand why Ling was the embodiment of a ‘VCR’, but they would not be satisfied with the flimsy explanation of why Feng Ze was a ‘Dehumidifier’; Feng Sufang was a ‘Microwave Oven’; Michael was an ‘Air Fresher’ and Grandpa Feng was a ‘Rice Cooker’. These are the things that Roy Szeto, the director has to address in order to enrich the content and manipulate the symbolic correlation to their fullest extents. The two worlds: the reality and the world of household appliances remained opaque to the audience. They would find themselves disoriented between these two worlds. Did these two worlds co-exist? Was there a wormhole somewhere to make travel to and fro the two worlds possible? Thus, the symbolic meaning of the world of household appliances and the brigade of family protection unit were not clearly defined, which left the audience lost in the midst of nowhere. ‘Family Protection Unit’ was undoubtedly a medley of an innovative plot, awesome songs, brilliant actors, stunning sets and props, dazzling costumes, and striking lighting design, but sometimes having too much of everything may not help get the intended messages across. 香港話劇團《家庭保衛隊》 上載日期：2008年 3月
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