UNTITLED F*CK M*SS S**GON PLAY. Photo Credit: ©The Other Richard
With its hilarious script and talented cast, Kimber Lee’s ‘UNTITLED F*UK M*SS S**GON PLAY is a scathing review of the western portrayal of Asian culture that’s not to be missed.
The winner of the inaugural Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2019, International Award, Kimber Lee’s UNTITLED F*CK M*SS S**GON PLAY’s makes its powerful world premiere at the Royal Exchange Theatre as part of Manchester International Festival.
Our protagonist Kim (Mei Mac) begins her journey as a meek and, importantly, quiet ‘traditional Asian woman’. Mac personifies what is essentially the same character in a multitude of storylines, growing increasingly frustrated as she realises her ending is pre written; she has no agency in making the choices to affect how her story unravels. Her series of events is regurgitated time and time again, until she finds her voice and is no longer willing to be resigned to accept her fate.
UNTITLED F*CK M*SS S**GON PLAY. Phot Credit: ©The Other Richard
As the audience enters the theatre they are met with a blank space, save for a few childlike plastic rocks and a basket of artificial lilies. On first impression, this appears to cheapen the performance before it has even begun, however as the piece starts to take form, Khadija Razas’ impeccably thought-out set design begins to make sense, with the narrator, Rochelle Rose, drawing the audience’s attention to the tired and overused bamboo effect staging, utilised in a poor and ill-considered attempt to emphasize the ‘traditional Asian hut’.
With the same basic structures being repositioned to assemble the set for the majority of the performance, credit must be given for how multifaceted the pieces were, seemingly being effortlessly reworked between scenes.
Razas reused set also plays into the theme that runs throughout the performance. Evidencing the lack of care or attention given to the accurate depiction of years of history and society, Kimber Lee’s use of intelligent humour and overplayed stereotypes sees rapturous laughter within the first few minutes that doesn’t falter throughout.
Just as the recycled story runs the risk of getting repetitive, the audience welcomes a perfectly timed change of pace as they arrive in 2023. In a Charlie Brooker-esque moment of realisation, Kim finally gains self-awareness and fights back against the ever-present antagonists of her mother, brother, love interest and rival that have been haunting her character since the show began. While they remain indignant that they do not see a problem, they cannot understand why she is so irate, it exemplifies the injustice so often experienced by minority groups – do others really not see it, or are they happy to be complicit as long as they are not the victim?
UNTITLED F*CK M*SS S**GON PLAY. Photo Credit: ©The Other Richard
In a swift break from the chaos on stage, Rosie (Lourdes Faberes) delivers an earnest and heartfelt monologue detailing her certainty that the issues being raised by her daughter are nothing more than an opportunity to be pessimistic. She is happy to be seen and represented in modern media at all, ‘A crumb from the table is still food’. As the speech continues, and the mask of acceptance drops, the audience are left wondering whether it is them, or in fact herself, that she is trying to reassure.
All of a sudden, the audience are aware they haven’t laughed in a long time. It isn’t funny anymore. They are left to sit in the uncomfortable silence, following the realisation that these exhausted expectations are part and parcel of so many people’s daily lives.
Kimber Lee’s ‘Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play’ is a scathing review of the western portrayal of Asian culture. With its hilarious script and talented cast, the show is not to be missed.
UNTITLED F*UK M*SS S**GON PLAY – Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, until 22 July 2023
Rebecca Baines is a charity worker from Manchester, with a lifelong love of theatre and music. Having trained as a classical musician and actress, performing in venues including the Notre Dame and St Marks Basilica, Rebecca is now more likely to be found in the audience with her daughter.
Social Profiles