OBSERVER: Yong
In a wonderful piece of youth theatre written for ages 10 to 13, Monkey Baa Theatre Company put on a moving production of Yong at the The Show Room, Melbourne Arts Centre.
The play was a depiction of the mostly untold story of Chinese immigration to Australia and their role in the Victorian gold rush of the 1800s.
Set in 1857, a young boy Yong and his father leave their small village in China to travel to the goldfields of Ballarat to seek their fortune and a better life for their family. However the voyage is a perilous one and leads to Yong having to find an inner strength to deal with the hardships faced.
The script for Yong was written by Jenevieve Chang. It was based on the book Yong: The Journey of an Unworthy Son by Janeen Brian and blended elements from the book with historical facts.
The script’s language was pitched well for the play’s target audience and, despite multiple characters and storylines, its overall narrative was clear and easy to follow. Thankfully the script never patronised nor spoke down to its audience, neither did it gloss over challenges such as racism that the Chinese faced on the goldfields.
In a wonderful solo performance Alan Zhu brought the script to life. Using his voice and physicality, Zhu skilfully portrayed several characters. Most importantly his Yong, the main character, was a truthful portrayal of a young boy and never felt forced nor patronising as can sometimes be the case when adults play teenagers.
Such a great performance was of course due in part to the accomplished direction of Darren Yap. His work with the script, Zhu and the production team meant that the story flowed well and entertained as well as educated.
Monkey Baa have been creating theatre for young audiences for over 25 years and Yong is a testament as to why they have achieved this well-deserved success.
Review by Peter Murphy