Future Shapers: Tom Chan, child actor turned seasoned theatre virtuoso

The playwright and theatre director Tom Chan makes for a striking figure in the dimness of Kwai Chung’s Boom Theatre. He has a slender frame but it’s clad in red flannel today, a bright visual pop against the shades of green in the props and backdrops waiting for the night’s performance. The stage is set, the curtain is drawn, and all spotlights are on Chan as he neatly moves between poses. The 25-year-old navigates the theatre with a fluid assuredness, like he belongs on stage – and in many ways, he does.

At an age where most young people are only just starting to feel more firm-footed in their careers, Chan has already passed his 10th anniversary of being in the industry. Having always been a theatre kid, he started performing as a child actor in musicals and had moved on to directing productions by the mere age of 15, presenting the Grease musical in Cantonese. He later also acquired the rights from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to put on a Cantonese production of the classic musical Singin’ in the Rain, and has since written, composed, directed, and produced Our Journal of Springtime: The Musical, Hong Kong’s first ever long-running musical. As part of our special Future Shapers series on Hong Kong’s creative talents, we spend an afternoon with Chan in Boom Theatre – which he founded – to find out what fuels his passion for the stage, and what it’s like bearing the mantle of Hong Kong’s youngest theatre professional.

How did you get started in musical theatre, and how did you transition from acting into directing?

I was three years old when I saw my first musical. My parents brought me to Hugga Hugga Teddy Bear, and I loved it. So they signed me up for the Hong Kong Children’s Musical Theatre, and I started joining their weekly lessons and annual productions.

My voice started breaking at 15 years old so I couldn’t perform children's roles any more, but I was still too young to act as an adult. I remembered my childhood dream of becoming a director, so I approached my school about putting on a Cantonese version of Grease. I tried writing the lyrics myself and translating from the original script, but my proposal got rejected by the school anyway. So I joined a youth experimental theatre, where I got the opportunity to direct Grease.

Tell us about how you established Boom Theatre.

While working on Grease, I discovered that with directing, you essentially start from zero and get involved in the entire production. The process of building a piece of finished work from scratch and presenting it to an audience gave me a sense of satisfaction that was greater than when I was acting. Later, I decided to set up a theatrical company so I could have a platform to put on any productions I wanted, so I founded Boom Theatre. The Cantonese version of Singin’ in the Rain was my theatre’s debut musical.

I want the Hong Kong theatre that I love to grow until tourists associate coming to Hong Kong with going to the theatre for shows

How has your work contributed to Hong Kong’s evolving artistic identity and narrative?

There are plenty of arts varieties that are developing well in Hong Kong, but not musical theatre. A musical is made up of so many factors, each of which needs to be executed well and in synergy with each other to produce a successful show. I think Hong Kong musical theatre still has a long way to go, with lots of room to explore ways of improving. How can we earn a place in global theatre without losing Hong Kong’s cultural identity, and produce musicals that are on par with commercial productions abroad?

My own work is pretty heavy on being entertaining. We already have to deal with a lot of harsh realities in life, so when audiences enter the theatre they should be able to relax. I’m not afraid to ‘sugarcoat’ things, not as a way of blaming practical reality, but rather to touch on social issues we should face. Our Journal of Springtime is a show that anyone from three to 80 years old will be able to relate to emotionally. To make audiences weep, laugh, or reflect on their lives should be what musicals aim towards. Because this is a long-running production, we’re here for visiting tourists to enjoy anytime – even before we installed subtitles, we already had audiences from France, Japan, mainland China, Taiwan, and more. It’s telling everyone that Hong Kong also has a long-running musical that can touch hearts and souls.

Who or what are your major influences, and how do they manifest in your creative work?

I’m most inspired by theatre culture in the UK. When I was studying drama and philosophy at Royal Holloway in London, I’d see so many ads for musicals on bus stops and train stations and think, it would be great if Hong Kong was also like this one day! Studying further in South Korea in 2019 was another milestone; I was able to see first-hand the commercial model and scale of Korean theatre productions, and brought back what I learned about the characteristics of theatre in a language that’s not internationally spoken, as well as visual effects and music design.

What fuels your passion for Hong Kong’s vibrant arts industry?

Well, first and foremost, I love Hong Kong; secondly, I love theatre. I want the Hong Kong theatre that I love to grow until tourists associate coming to Hong Kong with going to the theatre for shows. It’s going to take some time to change this culture, but we have so many talented creatives and actors who can make this dream a reality. We live in a concrete jungle that’s focused on commerce and finance, but that’s all the more reason why we can’t do without arts and culture. I want theatre to be part of Hong Kong’s mainstream culture, which is why I produced a long-running musical in the first place. When people don’t have to buy tickets months in advance or rush to see a performance before it wraps up in a month or so, when they can watch a musical anytime, that’s when it becomes part of our culture.

Hong Kong musical theatre still has a long way to go. How can we earn a place in global theatre without losing Hong Kong’s cultural identity?

What challenges have you faced as an artist in Hong Kong?

Resources are an issue in Hong Kong’s creative industry, and it’s a vicious cycle. Because musicals are considered niche here with a relatively small demand, our box office might not do that well, which means less resources for us to put on a great production. I began a long-running musical precisely because it requires a long time to make a profit and improve the project. From a commercial view, musicals are something that won’t make you money – and that’s if you’re not operating at a loss. But we need to continue promoting long-running musicals in order to incubate new productions and attract commercial support, and then slowly inculcate performing arts in everyday lives.

What are your top three musicals of all time?

Because characters sing their feelings and thoughts out loud, musical plots can tend to be a bit more simplistic, and there’s the assumption that all musicals are heavy-handed in their messages and without much depth. But Wicked explores some deep social issues and really leaves the audience thinking afterwards, so it’s a musical I really admire. The Book of Mormon is a major hit in both the UK and the US, and this is the musical which made me believe that comedy is the way forward to tackle societal issues in a light-hearted way. Lastly, Legally Blonde is fantastic from set designs and choreography to overall structure.

Do you have any exciting projects in the pipeline? 

For the 10th anniversary of Boom Theatre, we’ll be releasing Our Journal of Springtime on film. Last year, Lawrence Cheng and I produced the stage version of Kiss Me Goodbye and it was really well received, so we also want it to become a long-running musical. We’re also planning an arts festival in April for small troupes and young people to perform onstage, to look back on how we went from an amateur group to producing a long-running show, and reflect on how we can push Hong Kong theatre further.

Photography: Calvin Sit
Shot on location: Boom Theatre