Post by marion on Oct 19, 2023 11:04:08 GMT
I have censored the title for the front page of the site in case it looks a bit rude but it is actually called Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play by an American playwright called Kimber Lee. It is about the stereotyping of Asian characters in the arts and the contrast with the white characters who are often seen as their superior or saviours.
It starts off with a twenty minute or so whizz through Madame Butterfly with our heroine called Kim falling for an American chisel-jawed officer called Clark. He leaves her, she has a baby. Some years later he returns with his beautiful wife, Evelyn, takes the child and she kills herself. Next we go to South Pacific where the same story plays out, often with the same dialogue, even though the shows are different but actually the representation is the same. We then whizz through Mash/Miss Saigon with the same dramatisation. There is a narrator to explain the action but whilst the Asian characters all speak English, Clark speaks rubbish Japanese etc and the narrator translates. This was all extremely well done and very funny.
For the ending, we switch to a playlet set in modern New York where Kim is married to Clark, Evelyn to Kim’s brother. So far so integrated but Kim still feels constrained by the stereotyping and the need to show the acceptable traits of humility and gratitude. This was the weakest part of the show for me and I struggled to follow all of it.
This was performed in the round with a cast of six. I hadn’t heard of any of them* but the narrator (Rochelle Rose) really gave it some verve and they all performed extremely well, and audibly!!!! It was an unusual piece and I enjoyed it, and there were some very funny passages. It was extremely well received by the audience. My ticket cost £12 so it was fantastic value for money for me.
* I e since checked the website and have seen some of them on TV but didn’t recognise them on stage.
It starts off with a twenty minute or so whizz through Madame Butterfly with our heroine called Kim falling for an American chisel-jawed officer called Clark. He leaves her, she has a baby. Some years later he returns with his beautiful wife, Evelyn, takes the child and she kills herself. Next we go to South Pacific where the same story plays out, often with the same dialogue, even though the shows are different but actually the representation is the same. We then whizz through Mash/Miss Saigon with the same dramatisation. There is a narrator to explain the action but whilst the Asian characters all speak English, Clark speaks rubbish Japanese etc and the narrator translates. This was all extremely well done and very funny.
For the ending, we switch to a playlet set in modern New York where Kim is married to Clark, Evelyn to Kim’s brother. So far so integrated but Kim still feels constrained by the stereotyping and the need to show the acceptable traits of humility and gratitude. This was the weakest part of the show for me and I struggled to follow all of it.
This was performed in the round with a cast of six. I hadn’t heard of any of them* but the narrator (Rochelle Rose) really gave it some verve and they all performed extremely well, and audibly!!!! It was an unusual piece and I enjoyed it, and there were some very funny passages. It was extremely well received by the audience. My ticket cost £12 so it was fantastic value for money for me.
* I e since checked the website and have seen some of them on TV but didn’t recognise them on stage.
Anymore to come?
