The Production: Golden Blood by Merlynn Tong
The Theatre: The Fairfax Studio
The Company: Melbourne Theatre Company
Stars: 4
Until 30 November
It was one of those plays that I was going to love or hate. Jay mentioned that the reviews weren't that great. And what sort of play has the playwright in the cast?
Well, this one does.
Tong's play about family and responsibility is a gem in its own right. The MTC website describes it as, "Left to fend for themselves, a teenage girl is taken under the wing of her older brother. Trouble is, his gangster swagger is the real deal, and thug life doesn’t come with a parenting manual."
Tong plays the girl, (No name is given) from the ages of 14-21. Charles Wu plays the boy, her older brother with some pretty dodgy roots. The boy takes on the girl as his ward after their mother dies. The pair haven't seen each other in seven years after their mother threw the boy out.
I found a lot to like in this play. For one, being set in Singapore, the two actors did the play in Singlish (Singaporean English). Having numerous friends from that part of the world, I settled into the accent with ease and saw some things on stage I could see happening. Spending the hour and a half of the production wondering where things were going, I was kept suitably entertained. Two girls of Asian extraction at the end of the row, found this hilarious. Jay was bored.
Tessa Long's direction is assured, and I enjoyed how the play took you to places you rarely see. It also made you wonder just how good the decision it was of the girl to go along with her brother, who was a scammer at best. But strangely, they loved each other as well. The minimalist set really did a lot of favours to the play as well.
This won't be for everybody, but as it's closing tomorrow night there's no more chance to see it. For me, getting some insights into the Asian diaspora was a very good thing.
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