THEATRE REVIEW: Scenes from a Yellow Peril
23.06.22 at ASB Waterfront Theatre, Auckland
Photo credit: Andi Crown
I’ve been going to theatre performances since I was a kid. I would beg my mum to grab tickets to almost every performance, musical, puppet show, I knew would be in the area. But I’ve also been feeling uncomfortable at theatre performances since I was a kid. Even when I was young, I knew that there was a certain type of person who was allowed on stage, and even worse, a certain type of person who was allowed in the audience. I couldn’t explain it though. I just knew I felt like I didn’t belong in the audience. My hair was too dark, my nose was the wrong shape and I generally felt like I had to apologize for my existence there. As I got older, the feeling didn’t really go away. Looking at some of my old reviewing notebooks, I found one of my comments in 2019: ‘I try to catch the eye of the only other Asian person in the audience’.
Nathan Joe 周润豪 has been on my radar as a playwright and director since I saw I am Rachel Chu in 2018. I am Rachel Chu came out during that weird moment of Crazy Rich Asians popularity. Suddenly, my “friends” were saying things like: ‘he wouldn’t usually be my type, but I lowkey hope I can get that Crazy Rich Asians life lol’. But again, it was one of those moments where I couldn’t articulate what was wrong. And then I saw I am Rachel Chu. This show was the first time I felt really heard as an Asian person living in diaspora. And it was the first time I wasn’t one of the only Asian people in the audience. I’ve watched Nathan grow and evolve creatively over the years, and I am so proud of his first mainstream performance at ASB Waterfront Theatre. His work needs to be seen by everyone.
Scenes from a Yellow Peril is all of Nathan’s previous work pushed to the limit. Director, Jane Yonge, has done an exceptional job at building on Nathan’s ideas and evolving them into what we see on the stage. It is so clear that the relationship between director, cast and crew has been one of openness and empathy. This strong connection between all the creatives is how Scenes from a Yellow Peril maintains such cohesive structure. Everything flows perfectly - the pace, the tone, the execution of each section, it’s all so smooth. With so many distinctly different sections (slam poetry, song, interviews, etc), I was amazed at how clean the transitions between each section was. Emotion is at the heart of Scenes from a Yellow Peril, which makes it so unique. But also, it makes it harder to work with. Yonge has done a tremendous job of manifesting emotion through the rhythm, staging, movement and pacing. Emotion is messy, but Yonge has managed to maintain the messiness of sadness and rage, whilst also creating a strong narrative.
Photo credit: Andi Crown
Now, time for me to rave about the music. The inclusion of live music (also by Asian performers!!) was incredible and I spent most of the show turning to my partner and whispering: ‘god this is so good’. Not only does the live music bring a cinematic quality to the performance, but it also adds a multidimensionality to the fear, anger and sadness felt on stage. Kenji Iwamitsu-Holdaway 岩満 健司, the sound designer and composer, has created one of the most fantastic live theatre soundtracks I have heard. The composition is so tastefully done, with the music never intruding on the performance or feeling forced. Rather, the music works in conjunction with the performance, supporting the tone of every word, movement and emotion on stage. The music became a platform for the actors to perform and build on. Even more importantly, the musicians (Daniel Mitsuru McKenzie 石本 完, J.Y Lee 이종윤 and Rhohil Kishore) were able to go between genres and soundscapes with ease - they floated between ambient horror in “They Shoot Chinamen, Don’t They?” To the experimental jazz in “Decolonise the Body. We are all Meatsacks” to the soul number in “I Cannot Invite my Parents to my Play”. Their ability to just seamlessly move between musical styles was such a huge testament to their skills as musicians.
“Not only does the live music bring a cinematic quality to the performance, but it also adds a multidimensionality to the fear, anger and sadness felt on stage”
The on stage ensemble of actors: Uhyoung Choi 최우영, Amanda Grace Leo 梁宿娴, Louise Jiang 江欣玥, Nathan Joe 周润豪 and Angela Zhang 张挚 formed this unbreakable unit, moving between each other’s words, supporting each other’s bodies and experiences. Within the ensemble though, I could see the solidarity of Asianness, of POC experiences on stage. Each actor is themselves, but also a performance of themselves. It’s such a clever way to explore the multifaceted identity of Asians living in diaspora. Shoutout to my favourite section of the performance “Decolonise the Body. We are all Meatsacks” where Louise Jiang dances to experimental jazz. Her delivery of the lines, with this machine-gun stuttered rhythm, hit me so hard. Her jarring movements across the stage, this terrifying and powerful dance of pain and sadness at racism, at forgetting your language, at hating your body, was astounding. Nathan has such a unique way of turning language inside out and forcing you to see your words from the inside. He works with language in powerful ways, completely decolonizing it, merging language together. The actors bring life to Nathan’s words. Also, Amanda Grace sings like her life depends on it and it’s amazing.
Special mention to the creative team - the production designers, dramaturg, sound and lighting operators, videographers and more. Everyone has worked in such creative unison to create this performance. Steven Junil Park 박준일 has some amazing costume design, inspired by the structures of East Asian traditional clothing and using repurposed fabric.
Scenes from a Yellow Peril made me realize I need to change my reviewing practice. I never want to be too critical reviewing shows as I know the time and effort that went into the performance, and I know how much my review can influence whether someone will buy tickets. But after Scenes from a Yellow Peril, I know why people critique things: They want you to know what was just good and what was excellent. Scenes from a Yellow Peril was excellent. ■
Scenes from a Yellow Peril is playing at ASB Waterfront Theatre from 23 June - 3 July. Grab your tickets here!
