Lindsey McAlister, writer-director of Mou Man Tai, shares a light moment with the cast during a rehearsal session. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

“I’m quite an energetic person anyway, but I think Hong Kong energy makes me have more energy,” says Lindsey McAlister, fittingly talking over the noise of a packed cafe, on a recent midweek afternoon in Taikoo Place. The upmarket office complex is also home to ArtisTree, the venue of the writer-director’s current production, the musical comedy Mou Man Tai (Cantonese for “No worries”). 

Opening tonight, it’s McAlister’s second commission for Swire Properties under the developer’s Project After 6 (PA6) initiative. Launched in 2014, PA6 aims to give tenants of the office complex the chance to uncover their “unexplored talents”.

A model of Marsha Roddy’s Chinese-porcelain-inspired set for Mou Man Tai includes red market lamps, as well as outsized versions of the traditional vacuum flask. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Born and raised in northwest England, McAlister says she doesn’t really feel British anymore, having lived in Hong Kong for most of her life. In 1993 she established the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (HKYAF). “Hong Kong is home,” she affirms. “Mou Man Tai is very much a love letter to Hong Kong from me.”

McAlister spent two weeks in the UK working on the project with her longtime collaborator — and an HKYAF alum — the BAFTA- and Emmy-Award-winning composer Nick Harvey. The fact that they wrote the music for Mou Man Tai in such a short time is something the director credits to their easy working relationship as well as her own tendency not to overthink things. “I have no thoughts. … Everything comes from my gut and my heart,” she says.

A concept musical — the concept being Hong Kong’s legendary can-do spirit — Mou Man Tai will depict snapshots of life in the city that are sure to strike a chord with residents. A cast of 33 office workers, many of them first-time performers, will portray such archetypal characters as the tiger mom, feng shui master and super tutor, and bring to life scenes such as a raucous night out in the Lan Kwai Fong bar and restaurant area.

Archetypal characters such as the feng shui master and tiger mom have inspired the design of playing cards created to mark the musical’s launch. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Being used to working with teenagers, McAlister was pleasantly surprised to encounter the same level of passion and energy from adults who spend all day working in an office. Alexander Grasic, who grew up in Hong Kong, and works in corporate communications, concurs: “Even though much of the cast works in quite serious corporate environments, you wouldn’t be able to tell from the atmosphere in rehearsals.” 

“The experience has been a great exercise in ‘leaving your problems at the door’: appreciating the present moment and the people around you,” he adds.

“The rehearsal process has been an eye-opening experience,” says Bernice Yu, who works in human resources. “Not only have I been learning from world-class professionals, but my fellow cast members are all here doing something we’re passionate about, despite being super-busy with our other commitments.”

 The ArtisTree venue at Cambridge House, Taikoo Place. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The creative team includes music director Amuer Calderon, sound designer Can Ha, lighting designer Lee Chi-wai, and set and costume designer Marsha Roddy. The set design at ArtisTree is all blue and white — inspired by Chinese porcelain. Roddy says her intention is to remove the audience from reality and transport them to a fantasy version of the city they know so well.

“Swire have been incredibly generous to the performers, giving them a really great space to work in,” says McAlister. “Even just to build a venue — a multipurpose space within their office community that can be used for exhibitions, performances, talks — it’s a real luxury.”

“One of the things I’ve heard from the cast is: ‘I’ve developed so much self-confidence from doing this project,’” the director continues. “The arts are really important, but so are all the intangibles: self-confidence, self-esteem; the ability to cooperate, co-create, communicate; to have empathy, resilience, motivation — all these wonderful life skills.

“For the performers to feel joy and feel so much better in their bodies than they did three months ago (when rehearsals began) — that’s such a result from a project like this.”

If you go

Mou Man Tai

Dates: Through June 24

Venue: ArtisTree, 1/F, Cambridge House, Taikoo Place, 979 King’s Rd, Quarry Bay

taikooplace.com/en/whatson/projectafter6

Contact the writer at madeleine@chinadailyhk.com