Compass Magazine, August 2003

Hitting a high note at Rooftop Theatre with the LoShang Theatre Company By Courtney Donovan Smith

       It was not the response they were expecting: For three nights running, the tiny Rooftop Theatre packed in over 50 hot, sweating people while people were being turned away in droves at the door. "We really didn't know if anyone would interested," said LoShang Theatre Company co-founder Louise Knight. It turns out hundreds were.

With the performers ranging from professionals to complete amateurs, the range and quality of talents varied but at no point ceased to be entertaining. The show kicked off with local flutist Eigen's poignant and suprisingly powerful evocation of an ex-lover's smile. Of the four short plays, "Universal Language" stands out as perhaps the most clever piece I've seen in awhile--a humourous take on a scam artist's attempt to sell language classes in a language that doesn't actually exist. The only original play of the four, "The Donkey Rode the Pig", was probably the most effective for the very cross-cultural audience. With little spoken language actors appealed the entire audience with hilariously outrageous comedic acting and handfuls of peanuts. Another bridge builder was Asha's poetry, recited alternately in Chinese and English.

      The two short films written, directed and acted in by a locally-based film club and were surprisingly good, one quite funny and the other thought provoking. The one dance piece, the comedic classic "they're naked and they do dance" got more than a few giggles from the audience.
Solo performer David Seymour brought his unique Tom Waits-inspired music and there was even a story teller to round out the program. The performers were a mix of Taiwanese and foreigners and, according to co-founder Brook Hall, this cross-cultural artistic expression is a goal of the LoShang Theatre Company.

The theatre itself is a labour of love, with the space donated by Nell, the owner of the jewelry shop below. A handful of people donated their money and their time over six months to lay out the floor, put in lighting, sew cushions and prepare the space. Happily, they have now installed a much-needed air conditioner.        The LoShang Theatre company is open to all, local and foreign, who want to participate and from the show I saw it looked like a lot of fun. Additionally, the theatre itself is available for a variety of functions. For more information about either, email loxiang-rooftop@yahoo.com.

      Getting There: From SOGO II, head south on JingChung road about two blocks and turn left. The Rooftop Theatre is located above Nell's Jewelry Store, directly across from La Bodega and is visible from JingChung road.

Rooftop Theatre
6, JingChung (ChingCheng) 2nd St.