Belvoir St Theatre has been transformed. And it’s a familiar, comforting setting.
We’ve all set foot in somewhere like the Golden Phoenix Restaurant before – big round tables with red table cloths, Lazy Susans for endless feasts of dumplings, and a lucky cat or two waving from beside the cash register. We know these places because they’ve become such a staple in our suburban societies.
What is unfamiliar (and exciting) here is seeing it laid out before us in the theatre. Playwright Michelle Law is inviting us into a world rarely seen on Australian stages.
Pearl owns the restaurant. She has struggled to run it while bringing up two daughters on her own, after leaving an abusive relationship. Zoe, the eldest, is forging a career as a classical violinist and trying to navigate the turbulent waters of online dating. Mei is about to graduate high school, and is desperate to find her place next to the school’s ‘it’ girl by rejecting her Chinese heritage.
Law has given life to three complex, complicated, passionate women who feel deeply and struggle daily with being single Asian females. Her script cracks like a whip. It’s funny and warm-hearted and keenly observed. It’s the true star of this show, and for a debut play that’s an incredible achievement.
Law’s writing deals with complex and sensitive issues of race, gender, identity, discrimination and racism with a tender touch through the voices of these women. It’s often surprisingly comedic.
Most of the performances all fall into a certain stylised rhythm, with the exception of Emily Burton. Her sincerity as Katie is hilarious and touching. Hsiao-Ling Tang as feisty Pearl has breadth and gravity on stage, but not always truthfulness. Courtney Stewart’s Mei is sweet and bratty but a little forced. Alex Lee has a fantastic bar scene displaying sublime awkwardness. But all three women feed off each other’s energy, and sometimes this dictates the performances. At times it all gets 
a bit too frenetic, and the impact of the climax was lost in the chaos.
Director Claire Christian brings a playful hand to the production, using the space and Moe Assad’s set well.
Law’s play celebrates the resilience of these women in the face of racist Australia. They are just like pearls, glisteningly beautiful in the midst of adversity and hardship.
So come on in to the Golden Phoenix and take a seat at the table. A feast awaits.
Alana Kaye – Theatre Now & On The Town
Playing at Belvoir St Theatre until March 25.
