Tag Archives: Michael Phong Le

Forgotten – 3 Stars

Forgotten

Forgotten

Arcola Theatre

Reviewed – 31st October 2018

★★★

“Forgotten is a play which should most certainly take its place in our global collective memory”

 

Daniel York Loh’s play takes as its subject the forgotten contribution of the WW1 Chinese Labour Corps – approximately 140,000 in number – who supported the Allies and, in no small part, paved the way for the shaping of modern China. The cast of six take us on a journey from a rural village in China to 1920s Paris, by way of the trenches and a French munitions factory, and, for the most part, it is a compelling and enlightening ride. Three of Forgotten’s central protagonists are part of a rural theatre troupe, and the play begins with their stylised performance of a folk-tale, complete with the striking high pitch and rising cadence associated with Chinese opera. It is a clever device through which to catapult this 21st century London audience into a different world, and immediately emphasises how little we know of China and its history and traditions. This theatrical form was continually woven through the tapestry of the piece, with greater and lesser degrees of success, but at its best moments – the Eunuch Lin facing down German shell-fire with song and dance – was uniquely arresting. Credit must be given here to Quang Kien Van’s perfectly tuned movement direction, which so deftly transformed the villagers/soldiers into performers when the occasion demanded.

Emma Bailey’s excellent design, complemented by Jessica Hung Han Yun’s lighting and Luke Swaffield’s sound, artfully created the play’s various different worlds, and Kim Pearce (Director) ensured that the narrative rarely lost pace. There were some lovely performances to boot. This reviewer was particularly charmed by the open-faced and open-hearted Big Dog (engagingly played by Camille Mallet De Chauny), and the other-worldly innocence of the Eunuch Lin (beautifully portrayed by Zachary Hing). In many ways, the play’s central character is The Professor (Leo Wan). He is educated and aspirational, frequently railing against China’s status in the world and yearning for Western cultural and technological sophistication. He begins the piece as a hopeful optimist, convinced that once the fighting has died down, his country and his fellows will finally be given the golden ticket. Wan perfectly captures this sweet, earnest man and provides the play with some gentle but essential comedy moments – his explanation of the muddled alliance and origins of the war being a particular highlight. His final act of anger and defiance is the play’s most powerful image, and justifies the otherwise slightly limp final section, set in postwar Paris.

By shining a light, a hundred years after the end of the Great War, on the shameful omission of the CLC from the numerous narratives of Allied victory, Daniel York Loh’s Forgotten is a vital piece of theatre, and deserves a longer run and a larger stage. It is a complex piece, grappling with themes of colonialism, the price of technological progress, the plight of rural women, and, in a meta-theatrical fashion, the power and role of theatre itself. Occasionally the piece strains under the weight of this thematic density. The post-war exposition seems clumsy, and the play’s language – a melting pot of Confucian poetry, delicious archaic swearing, French and English – occasionally becomes overly dissonant and would benefit from a bit of editorial finesse. It is to be hoped that Loh can harness some further investment to keep working, because Forgotten is a play which should most certainly take its place in our global collective memory.

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Jack Sain

 

Arcola Theatre

Forgotten

Arcola Theatre until 17th November

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Heretic Voices | ★★★★ | January 2018
Fine & Dandy | ★★★★★ | February 2018
The Daughter-in-Law | ★★★★ | May 2018
The Parade | ★★★ | May 2018
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives | ★★★★★ | June 2018
The Rape of Lucretia | ★★★★ | July 2018
Elephant Steps | ★★★★ | August 2018
Greek | ★★★★ | August 2018
Mrs Dalloway | ★★★★ | October 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

 

 

Taking Flight – 3 Stars

Flight

Taking Flight

New Diorama Theatre

Reviewed – 3rd June 2018

★★★

“‘Khon’, written and performed by Michael Phong Le, is the standout piece of the programme”

 

The New Diorama’s ‘Taking Flight Festival’ consists of three new plays by emerging writers from the British East Asian, South Asian and South East Asian communities. ‘Clarissa’ by Lekha Desai Morrison is the opening piece. “It’s five o’clock somewhere,” declares Jasmine as she flicks through recipe after recipe in a pink dressing gown, trying to decide what to cook at an upcoming barbeque to impress her fiance’s mother, Clarissa. But Clarissa has other ideas, and much to Jasmine’s surprise, a sound at the door heralds the arrival of Clarissa herself. This is a play that discusses similarity and difference in an entertaining and charming way, as an apparent clash of cultures gives way to the realisation that they have more in common than they expected. The opening monologue lands most effectively (particularly in terms of comic effect) when it is directed at the audience, but these moments are few and far between. Instead its direction seems random, neither engaging with us directly but at the same time not engaging with the world of the play either. Warmly domestic, the script is a little simplistic compared to the later two, and the characters are played in too much of an overblown manner to be truly convincing. A more subtle and domestic approach to this might’ve given the piece the intimacy necessary.

‘Khon’, written and performed by Michael Phong Le, is the standout piece of the programme. Voted most likely to end up in prison in his school yearbook, Michael has always found it hard to tread the line between the rigid, rule-abiding British society which he has been raised in and his more chaotic Vietnamese heritage where they even have a word for bending the rules: “khon”. But as he does his best to prove he is equal, that he is “a good immigrant”, his family are involved in a very different way of life. A story about family, dichotomous cultures and love, ‘Khon’ is funny and moving in equal measure. Cleverly constructed, Le knows how to strike the balance between playful and serious and he does so masterfully, and the piece is supported by a strong and likeable delivery.

‘Taylor Swift’s Dog’ is the third and final piece of the evening, written by Samuel Daram. YouTube vlogger Yazmina is writing her first fantasy novel. At the other end of the spectrum, literary agents are rejecting authors with foreign names in favour of celebrity written reads. This is a piece that screams potential but is unfortunately unfulfilled. The scenes at the literary agency feel overly long, particularly as they are quite repetitive in nature, and we get the picture early on. A vital point about the industry is being made, but if it is made too many times it quickly loses its impact. Whilst the genre of satire works really well, it is almost not satirical enough, so that the final jump feels so unexpected that it takes us out of the narrative. Some development could make this piece into the smart satire it strives to be.

‘Taking Flight Festival’ is a night of clear talent, entertaining, varied and nuanced.

 

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

 


Taking Flight

New Diorama Theatre

 

Related
Previously reviewed at this venue
Close Up | ★★★ | February 2018
Trap Street | ★★★★ | March 2018
Left my Desk | ★★★★ | May 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com