Candace Chong

Candace Chong
Chong in July 2022
Born (1976-09-09) September 9, 1976 (age 50)
Fujian, China
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese莊梅岩
Simplified Chinese庄梅岩
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhuāng Méiyán
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingzong1 mui4 ngaam4
Signature

Candace Chong Mui-ngam (Chinese: 莊梅岩; Jyutping: zong1 mui4 ngaam4) is a Hong Kong playwright whose plays include French Kiss (2005), Murder in San José (2009) and The Wild Boar (2012). She has won the Hong Kong Drama Award for Best Script seven times.

Early life and education

Chong was born in Fujian, China in 1976. The characters “Mui-ngam" (梅岩) in her name were derived from her parents' ancestral origins. She spent her early childhood in Fujian, where her father was a director of Fujian's traditional Liyuan opera and her mother worked as a primary school teacher. Both parents were part of the Wengongtuan [zh] (文工團), organized by the People's Liberation Army. Chong also has a younger brother who is three years her junior. At the age of three, she moved to Hong Kong with her family.

After settling in Hong Kong, her father worked as a security guard and her mother became a factory worker. The family lived on Whitty Street in Shek Tong Tsui. She attended the afternoon session of Kau Yan School [zh],[citation needed] graduating from Primary Six in 1989,[citation needed] before enrolling at St. Paul's Co-educational College. There, she studied in the arts stream and performed particularly well in Chinese. She also developed an early interest in theatre, directing and writing short plays for school projects. Upon graduating from secondary school in 1995, Chong enrolled at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where she studied psychology in the Faculty of Social Science and was a member of Shaw College. She completed her degree in 1999, then pursued playwriting at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts before moving to London to earn a master's degree at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Career

After completing her formal education, Chong joined the Chung Ying Theatre Company where she wrote her plays Alive in the Mortuary (2003), Shall We Go to Mars? (2005), French Kiss (2005), Murder in San José (2009) and The Wild Boar (2012). In 2011 she worked with American composer Huang Ruo to write a libretto for the opera Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The completed work premiered at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing and later was adapted worldwide.

Works

Plays

Opera

Television series

Film adaptations

References

  1. 1 2 Leung, Jancie (9 October 2012). "Candace Chong: The playwright who draws inspiration from a complicated world". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "【六四三十】創作舞台劇《5月35日》 莊梅岩：六四從未講清楚！" (in Traditional Chinese). HK01. 3 June 2019. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 香港電台第一台廣播節目《守下留情》於2022年1月10至12日播出的訪問
  4. 1 2 3 4 "戲劇，可以觀照人生──專訪莊梅岩" (in Traditional Chinese). Master Insight 灼見名家. 11 February 2019. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 "婚姻達人莊梅岩 相處之短暫，美好之脆弱" (in Traditional Chinese). Ming Pao. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022 – via Line Today.
  6. ↑ Nathan, John (20 May 2024). "Don't write about Tiananmen Square, the agent said - we're watching you". The London Times. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "創校艱辛屢創「第一」 百周年校慶聖保羅推電子教學". Apple Daily. 21 September 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "關於編劇：莊梅岩". 中大通訊第421期. The Chinese University of Hong Kong. 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  9. 1 2 "中大校友第六十六期" [Chinese University Alumni Magazine vol. 66]. Chinese University of Hong Kong. June 2011. p. 36.
  10. ↑ "Making words sing". South China Morning Post. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  11. ↑ Lee, Esther Kim (2015). The Theatre of David Henry Hwang. Bloomsbury. p. 186. ISBN 978-1472512086.
  12. ↑ Isaacs, Gregory Sullivan (15 August 2014). "East Meets West". Theater Jones. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  13. ↑ "The Beginner's Mind Meeting Award-winning Playwright and Alumna Candace Chong Mui-ngam". Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Archived from the original on 11 October 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "本地女性劇場工作者作品一覽 (1990-2010)" (PDF). International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). 14 August 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "且把昆蟲暫放下　新域劇團帶來口味煥然一新的《砵蘭街的Venezia Cafe》（只發中文稿）". Hong Kong Government Press (in Traditional Chinese). 26 March 2002. Archived from the original on 6 February 2004.
  16. ↑ "Alive in the Mortuary". Chung Ying Production Database. Archived from the original on 13 August 2026.
  17. ↑ 程腖 (11 February 2003). "易角". International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). Archived from the original on 15 April 2024.
  18. ↑ 小拾 (9 December 2003). "情思". International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). Archived from the original on 31 January 2023.
  19. ↑ 何俊輝 (20 May 2006). "不如跳跳舞觀後感". International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). Archived from the original on 22 October 2021.
  20. 1 2 "香港戲劇年鑑2012". International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong).
  21. ↑ "香港戲劇年鑑2013". International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong).
  22. ↑ 鄧小宇. "IATC Artism | 劇場：嘗試未算成功：談《黑色星期一》". International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). Archived from the original on 5 August 2020.
  23. ↑ 吳美松 (3 September 2025). "莊梅岩再指被消失 演藝學院劇作海報刪名及叫不要上台謝幕". HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 3 September 2025.
  24. ↑ 何故 (6 January 2023). "《短暫的婚姻》貼地又令人感動的香港原創愛情舞台劇｜何故專欄". HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 6 January 2023.
  25. ↑ "公路死亡事件". Windmill Grass Theatre (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 23 January 2025.
  26. ↑ 佛琳 (June 2020). "繼續面對歷史：談《5月35日》（庚子版）網上演出". International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong).
  27. ↑ 佛琳 (16 December 2021). "《車輪婆婆》為我們修補裂痕". International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong) (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 6 October 2022.
  28. ↑ 林綸詩 (16 March 2023). "莊梅岩X林海峰X黃子華《愛我別走》 給香港人的一封情書". HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 16 March 2023.
  29. ↑ "彩虹交匯處第一集 租客的衣櫃 - 彩虹交匯處 (podcast)". Listen Notes. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2026.