For Asian Heritage month, I’m so excited to highlight some (of the many) plays written by Asian Canadians that have been published by Playwrights Canada Press! The ones featured vary in tone and topic, yet all have a distinctive style, broaching topics in a provoking (Theory), allegorical (Iphigenia) or humorous way (A Perfect Bowl of Pho).
A Perfect Bowl of Pho by Nam Nguyen
Nam, a procrastination-prone Vietnamese Canadian university student, sets out with the vague ambition to write a musical about his diaspora as embodied by food, particularly the world-famous noodle soup pho. What follows is pure meta musical, genre-bending through thousands of years of history, featuring rapping ancient kings, communist spies, dancing sharks and refugees, and awkward first dates in suburbia. However, Nam eventually finds himself caught between his different characters as each argues what pho (the food and the show) truly represents, and he struggles to find an answer that will satisfy everyone—in the end, isn’t this just a bunch of silly soup songs?
This was a fun and funny musical (that made me incredibly hungry). Witty and very meta. Really enjoyed it!
Theory by Norman Yeung
Is there a limit to free speech? Who gets to decide? Isabelle’s film theory students are stunned that she would open an unmoderated online discussion group to complement a controversial syllabus. Her intention was for them to learn from each other, but when an anonymous student starts to post racist comments and offensive videos on the forum and others challenge Isabelle’s methods, she is forced to decide whether to intervene or to let the social experiment play out. But the posts soon turn abusive and threatening to Isabelle’s relationship with her wife, Lee, causing her to take matters into her own hands.
In this thrilling exploration of the intersections and divisions within liberalism, a young tenure-track professor finds herself in a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse that has her questioning her beliefs and fighting back for her life.
On the flip side of the first play I featured, this one was a good, and challenging read. It purposely provokes the ideas of free speech with some offensive moments that may evoke reactions from the reader/theatre-goer. Definitely a conversation starter, especially with how the story progresses and ends.
Iphigenia and the Furies (On Taurian Land) & Antigone: 方 by Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho)
Iphigenia and the Furies (On Taurian Land) highlights the repetition of hate and colonialism that occur in ancient myths through a mischievous lens. Since Iphigenia was rescued from the sacrificial altar, she has served as a high priestess to the goddess Artemis on Tauros, where she in turn is to sacrifice any foreigners who try to enter. When she discovers that an exiled prisoner is her brother, they together plot their escape, but are soon confronted by a force beyond their control.
Antigone: 方 is set against the backdrop of the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement and Tiananmen Square Massacre protests. When citizens challenge a state’s traditional doctrine, the ruling family is divided between their own interests and those of its citizens. After brothers Neikes and Teo kill each other in the protests, their sister Antigone defies her father’s orders to retrieve Neikes’s body, causing the government—and what’s left of their family—to reach a reckoning.
This was really interesting to read. I don’t often read mythology stories but in this case, the playwright has adapted two mythologies and set them in a more present day environment. While in Iphigenia it seems to still be in mythological times, the dialogue is very much a more colloquial and conversation manner.
Banana Boys by Leon Aureus
A smart, contemporary, and wickedly funny play about five young Asian Canadian men wrestling with issues of race, identity, and the death of a friend. Banana Boys is one story, fragmented into five and reconstructed throughout the course of the lives of the five young men it follows. Adapted from the novel by Terry Woo, Banana Boys is a “meditation for the restless” and a call to anyone who has felt out of place in the world.
I had the chance to actually attend the opening night of this play in 2017 at the Factory Theatre and loved it. It’s funny and touching, full of laughs and full of heart. The cast was hilarious and loved the multi-purpose use of the stage and cell phones.
Through the Bamboo by Andrea Maliki & Byron Abalos
Twelve-year-old Philly is literally pulled into an action-packed adventure while mourning the loss of her lola when she opens an old book and finds herself tossed into the fantastical land of Uwi.
In Uwi, memories are stories, and all stories are forbidden since the datu’s storytelling-loving wife died and his youngest daughter Nale disappeared. Now his remaining daughters, the Sisters, rule with darkness in their hearts. So when Philly appears, the duwende believe that she is Nale and the key to saving Uwi. Can Philly save them all while searching for her lola to bring her back home?
Similar to The Wizard of Oz, the Chronicles of Narnia, and Alice in Wonderland, this unique Filipinx-Canadian tale inspired by Philippine mythology shows the value of keeping memories alive and explores how families deal with loss.
This one I’m excited to check out, not just because it sounds amazing but also because I went to theatre school with one of the playwrights!
Thank you to Playwrights Canada Press for sending me copies of the plays for this feature. You can see a full list of plays by Asian Canadians over on their website!
JUST A LIL LOST 