King of the Yees an exploration of heritage, family
King of the Yees was written by American playwright Lauren Yee, who set out to explore her Chinese heritage, as well as her relationship with her father. Despite the specifics of her story, it’s a tale that everyone can relate to, says Sherry J. Yoon, who
KING OF THE YEES
When: Oct. 25-Nov. 11 Where: Babs Asper Theatre, National Arts Centre Tickets and information at nac-cna.ca or ticketmaster.ca.
Q What was your first experience with King of the Yees? A
It was a reading. I read the first 40 pages and I thought, ‘I really like it, this is a great play, I really like the conventions, I like the writing,’ but it was so very Chinese that I thought, being Korean, I thought maybe I’m not the right director for this show. It was just something that flashed in my mind, trying to make sure I was the right fit. Then in the very next scene, the actor says the exact thought that I had, that she didn’t realize how Chinese the play is going to be, because ‘I’m Korean.’ That’s her line. Directly in the play. It was the wildest thing! And I thought, ‘Well, you got my attention.’
Q What else crossed your mind when you read it? A
I’ve never had an experience like I did with this play. When I was reading it, I was just blown away by the mashup that Lauren Yee has for this world of tradition and family, in a contemporary voice. I’ve never read something quite like that. She just throws everything in there with a lot of love, a lot of humour and a lot of intelligence. It’s irreverent, and it’s rooted in theatricality. It’s for theatre lovers. There’s a play within a play that happens. There’s her subverting Asians, specifically Chinese stereotypes, but she does it in such a clever way that you don’t really leave anyone behind, no matter who you are in the audience, no matter what culture. She has the ability to move us from scene to scene, but really have a far-out take on some of these things that are traditionally Chinese in a way that resonates with her on her upbringing, but as well as how she feels distance from it growing up in San Francisco, and being born in America. It’s in those bittersweet places of expectation of family and trying to be who you are and carve out your own identity that I think everyone can relate with no matter where they’re from.
Q As a director, what possibilities did you see in it? A
I saw a lot of space for creativity. There are lines that say something magically appears, and for me, that’s not complicated. Beyond it being a directorial challenge, I like to have my imagination engaged, and I felt there’s a real artistic interpretation that’s open to a world that’s so contemporary. The language is very current, and it feels like it’s all about right now. A lot of the facts in the play are true, and a lot of the characters are real people, and there’s also a lot of ‘not real,’ magic realism, and fun and humour and it all meets at the same time and mashes up in a delightful way. It’s a fun world. It really is refreshing. It’s fun for everybody. You’ve got ancestors and face changers and lion dances and gongs going on simultaneously.
Q Does it feel like a true story? A
The stories are as true as the stories we’re told as a child, or how true those feel. Everything has a thread of truth, but emotionally it feels as real as it can be. Although it’s (written through) a slightly different lens in the U.S., it’s one that we definitely feel and face here, and all those conversations intersect when it comes to cultural diversity. It is all one thing, and at the same time, it’s different things, and I think this play ends up navigating everything simultaneously. It’s really for us, for you, for the audience that comes to see it.
Q So it’s not just for the Chinese community? A
Not at all. No matter what you look or feel like, or if you felt like the “other” growing up, you’ll connect with it. It’s that tension between cultures that is so bittersweet, but at the same time, it’s a big part of the balance of what it is to be Canadian. It’s a real celebration of that tension that’s so hard to talk about. Lauren just cracks it right open and has us have a good time in there.
Q Did you relate to it personally from experiencing that tension growing up? A
Oh yeah. I grew up in Burnaby, but we came from Korea in the ’70s, when I was one and a half. Because it gets so personal and so culturally specific, it becomes really universal. And the play does do that: It mines down to something so specific that you can resonate with it, be it (Yee’s) relationship with her father, her relationship with culture, her relationship with language. I’ve never really seen a work like that. lsaxberg@ postmedia.com Twitter @lynnsaxberg Instagram @lynnsax