Single Asian Female arrives to shake up a sensitive subject
When it comes to theatre, race and gender are two subjects that often yield some pretty heavy material. It’s a sensitive topic for many people, and rightly so – we’re living in a strange time where both of these issues are at the forefront of the world stage. Taking a far more tongue in cheek (but no less poignant) approach is Single Asian Female, the new play from Brisbane’s own maverick babe Michelle Law. This fresh comedy is taking over La Boite Theatre from February 11 to March 4 to confirm that if you think the people at your local Chinese take-away are talking about you in their native tongue, they definitely are.
Set on the Sunshine Coast, Single Asian Female is a powerful glimpse inside the lives of three women grappling with their own cultural identity and what it means to be an Asian woman living in Australia. The razor-sharp women all work at a Chinese restaurant owned by mother Pearl, a Chinese migrant who made some serious sacrifices to get to where she is. Pearl struggles to connect with her westernised daughters – eldest child Zoe is doing the all-too-familiar dance of choosing between a career and a baby, while her younger sister Mei deals with bullying at school and being torn between fitting in and standing out.
Single Asian Female is the brainchild of Michelle Law, this being her first foray into playwriting. She’s written for a wide range of publications from frankie magazine to The Sydney Morning Herald, as well as co-authoring the laugh-out-loud book Sh*t Asian Mothers Say with her brother Benjamin. As the book title suggests, Michelle’s own upbringing makes her more than qualified to create a play that approaches the many facets of growing up with migrant parents. She has interwoven her own experiences with this fictional family’s drama, making a piece of work that is sure to speak volumes to audiences of all backgrounds – after all, making fun of your parents is a universal bonding exercise.
If you’re keen for a hefty dose of laughs with a side of realness, you can nab tickets to Single Asian Female here.
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