Review | Hong Kong musical The Impossible Trial has its issues but the songs are superb
- A co-production between Freespace and the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, The Impossible Trial follows a greedy and immoral lawyer in 19th-century China
- Jordan Cheng’s performance of ‘The World in a Grain of Rain’ is the show-stopper, proving that he is without doubt one of the best musical singers in Hong Kong
This musical’s title could have been the description of its long and arduous journey to final production. But eventually, The Impossible Trial triumphed.
It all began in 2014 when composer Leon Ko and lyricist Chris Shum wanted to write a musical about a greedy and immoral lawyer in China’s Guangdong province in the late 19th century.
It previewed in 2019 under the name The Great Pretender and its debut was scheduled for 2020. Then, the pandemic intervened; even the first three shows of last week’s opening were cancelled because cast members were listed as close contacts of Covid-19 cases.
The ill-fated musical, a co-production between Freespace and the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, finally premiered on September 13.
The main protagonist, Fong Tong-geng (played by Lau Shau-ching), is haunted by the ghost of a childhood friend, Ah Sai (Jordan Cheng), who tells him he will be dragged down to hell unless he redeems himself.
