|
 In 1989, in pursuit of a breakthrough in acting style, Adam switched to ATV, playing the lead role in ’Storm in Shanghai’. This was a TV drama set in early years of the Chinese Republic and was produced by Ziu Zan-koeng. The story is about the journey of a rich young man from WuXi who is exiled to Shanghai as a result of family tragedy and how he transforms from being a coolie to the top of a gang. Adam was able to demonstrate his diverse acting capacity, in portraying the protagonist in youth, early maturity and old age. As demanded by the story, he at one point had to cross-dress as an actress in the Peking Opera, immerse himself in the Huangpu River at a near freezing temperature and jump from a height equal to that of a seven- storey building. All this goes to show that Adam was (and is) always ready, at the drop of a hat, to try anything.
|
|
In 1990 Adam collaborated with Michelle Yim in the production of ’Cyrano’, a large-scale classical romantic musical adapted from Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac of 1897. Set in the Dang Dynasty, Cyrano features Adam as the multitalented Sit Hang-lou who is very timid and shy because of unfortunate facial defects. He is unable to express his love for his cousin, Ho joek-san, and relies on ghostwriting for an old friend from the battle fields for an amorous outlet. This was Adam’s first attempt at a period stage drama that was also a musical. There were eight performances in the Hong Kong Cultural Center in June 1990, followed by ten re-runs in November. The production attracted audiences that normally did not go to the theatre and also set a precedent and trend towards casting prominent stars in other Hong Kong music theatre productions.
|
