Nine Dragons

By Jovanni Sy

Set in 1920s Hong Kong, Nine Dragons is a hard-boiled detective fiction with a twist: an inquisition into colonialism, racism, assimilation, and the clash of cultures. It’s the classic mystery/detective genre overlaid with the topical issue of identity – a struggle that any person of colour faces in any society that privileges whiteness.

It starts with murder: a wealthy, white woman is found dead. Nigel Dunston-Smith runs the cop shop in Kowloon, and he needs a detective with clout – a fellow white guy, that is – to oversee this high-profile case; his finest detective, Tommy Lam, just won’t do. So he partners newbie Sean Heaney with Lam and sends them to Nine Dragons, the most popular nightclub in town, to get some answers from the Fung family. Though they own and frequent the inner-city club, the Fungs live in the wealthiest neighbourhood around – the Peak – where most of the affluent residents are European or British. At first, Lam takes all the guff he gets from the colonials around him. But it doesn’t last: caught between his sense of justice and his experience within an unjust system, Lam rages and turns the tables in the second act by joining forces with the Fungs. The final unravelling is, in the words of one theatre critic, “suitably serpentine.”

True to noir, someone’s hiding something, everyone’s a double-crosser, the light is always dim and shadowy, and it’s always a good time for a few fingers of Scotch. Roaring Kowloon is the perfect setting for this cross-cultural thriller: it’s the Hong Kong district that was, at that time, considered dangerously exotic with its dark narrow streets, opium dens, seedy bars, and sex workers. And Nine Dragons is enhanced with video projection, fight scenes, and a dramatic musical score, all to cinematic effect.

Cast of [TK].

• Language: English
• Publisher: Talonbooks
• Release date: Mar 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781772014112

Jovanni Sy

Jovanni Sy is a playwright, director, actor, and the artistic director of Gateway Theatre in Richmond, British Columbia. In 2010, Sy wrote and performed A Taste of Empire which was nominated for two Dora Mavor Moore Awards including Outstanding New Play. It was subsequently remounted by Vancouver’s Boca del Lupo Theatre. A Cantonese version of A Taste of Empire was translated and performed by Derek Chan (with Sy directing) in 2016. Other writing credits include The Five Vengeances, a comic kung-fu adapation of The Revenger’s Tragedy and the libretti to the chamber operas Haiku Moments and The Cellar Door. Sy is currently developing the play Nine Dragons, a detective story set in 1920s colonial Hong Kong. Sy’s directing credits include God of Carnage, Antigone, and Blackbird (Theatre du Pif in Hong Kong), and Closer Than Ever, Valley Song, and Harvest (Gateway Theatre). In June 2015, he directed Clifford Cardinal’s award-winning play Stitch for Native Earth Performance Arts. As an actor, Jovanni has performed with theatre companies across Canada and overseas.

Book preview

Act 1

SCENE 1

---

TOMMY

(to us)

我個名叫林耀華。

Ngo go meng giu Lam Jiu Waa.

My name is Lam Yiu-wah.

但係返工嗰時，我係 Detective Sergeant Tommy Lam 。

Daan hai faan gung go si, ngo hai Detective Sergeant Tommy Lam.

But at work, I’m Detective Sergeant Tommy Lam.

自細開始，我嘅志願就係要做警探。

Zi sai hoi ci, ngo ge zi jyun zau hai jiu zou ging taam.

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a detective.

第一次話俾我老竇聽嗰陣，佢問我：

Dai jat ci waa bei ngo lou dau teng go zan, keoi man ngo:

The first time I told my father that, he said,

「點解？喺九龍，根本分唔清邊個係兵，邊個係賊。」

Dim gaai? Hai Gau lung, gan bun fan m cing bin go hai bing, bin go hai caak.

Why? In Kowloon, you can’t tell the police from the criminals.

佢以前帶人上山打獵為生。

Keoi ji cin daai jan soeng saan daa lip wai sang.

He made his living as a guide on hunting expeditions.

舊時，九龍仲係好多荒山野嶺，

Gau si, Gau lung zung hai hou do fong saan je leng,

Back then, Kowloon was still mostly wild,

啲有錢嘅鬼佬就由香港島嗰邊過嚟上山打老虎。

di jau cin ge gwai lou zau jau Hoeng Gong dou go bin gwo lai soeng sang da lou fu.

so rich white men would cross the harbour from Hong Kong to hunt for tigers.

我老竇幫手捕捉佢哋嘅獵物。

Ngo lou dau bong sau bou zuk keoi dei ge lip mat.

My father helped them catch their prey.

我覺得當差就好似跟隨佢嘅步伐噉。

Ngo gok dak dong caai zau hou ci gan ceoi keoi ge bou fat gam.

I figure joining the force was like following in his footsteps.

We see a fast montage of grisly black-and-white photographs of murder scenes. Then, a harshly lit room with Chief Superintendent Nigel DUNSTON-SMITH and Detective Superintendent Paul BEVERLEY.

It is 1:00 a.m. on June 21, 1924. We are in the investigation room at the Hong Kong Police Force – Kowloon District Headquarters.

DUNSTON-SMITH

I want some bloody explanations and I want them now.

BEVERLEY

A murder, Chief. Body found just a few hours ago –

DUNSTON-SMITH

We get a body every month in this cesspool. Why was I awakened and forced to drag myself to the station?

BEVERLEY

The victim was an English girl.

DUNSTON-SMITH

Here in Kowloon?

BEVERLEY

She was discovered by the Yau Ma Tei docks.

DUNSTON-SMITH

English, you say?

BEVERLEY

Her name is Isabel Bullard. Her father sits on the Legislative Council.

DUNSTON-SMITH

Oh I know Archie Bullard. He’ll be gutted. Still, this couldn’t wait until morning?

BEVERLEY

We believe there’s a killer who has slain three different women.

DUNSTON-SMITH

There were two other girls killed in my district and this is the first I’m hearing about this?!

BEVERLEY

Sir, the first two victims were Chinese.

DUNSTON-SMITH

Oh I see.

BEVERLEY

But all three girls were found mutilated.

DUNSTON-SMITH

Mutilated how?

BEVERLEY

The killer cut off the victims’ hands and tongues.

DUNSTON-SMITH

Good God, is there no end to their