Hong Kong’s accidental comedian Tyson Chak talks humour and his serious side
Actor stumbled into comedy while a student and hasn’t looked back since. He tells us about the challenges of his upcoming one-man show and why he hopes to be seen as a serious thespian too
Hong Kong comedian Tyson Chak Hoi-tai is best known for his chameleon roles in Microsex Office, a series of stage shows that later became a movie. These days he is making a name for himself after separating from mentor and PIP Theatre founder Jim Chim Sui-man. Ahead of his holiday appearances at the Udderbelly Festival on the Central harbourfront, Chak talks to Vanessa Yung about his latest projects and his role model.
WATCH: Tyson Chak in Microsex Office
Tell us more about your show Tyson’s Christmas Fantasia at the Udderbelly Festival?
It is a one-man parody. I’ll be switching between multiple characters talking about their love encounters during Christmas. It is the same man essentially, but one who has been through a lot of changes during different stages of his life. It’s more drama and role play than a stand-up comedy show. It’s been a while since I’ve done a one-man show – the last one was Good Luck Man three years ago at the Hong Kong Arts Centre.
It is. I’ve to come up with all the stories, so I’m grateful to colleagues and friends who have fed me fun stories of their own. One of the challenges is to make each role distinct and convincing, and my trick is to single out the unique traits of each character to expand on. The costume changes help too.
