Daniel York Loh’s semi-autobiographical piece, new to the Soho Theatre is a non-linear experience following a young British Chinese young person growing up in the West Country.
Their experience is washed with extreme racism in the playground, difficulty with exclusion which leads to an unhealthy drug habit and after stealing a car has to deal with a racist police officer believing they ‘will be dead by 21’.
Our two actors (Melody Chikakane Brown and Aruhan Galieva) bring this story to life supported by Daniel himself on the side, guitar in hand. An important part of this story is its rage through punk rock- sudden bursts of pent up fury, beautifully poetic writing in the genre of rock. Our younger performer’s personal purpose is to write the Dao of the British Chinese experience in which our older performer ‘Sage’ laughs, furious by the ridiculous lies. The younger tries to remain exclusive to all when in reality being British-Chinese remains to be a completely unique experience with the main uniting feeling being loneliness.
This show may be hard to grasp if you’re not open to a slightly chaotic world with time jumps and a location very unclear however the rules being bent feels radical and inspiring. Release the need for structure and hand holding to encourage an open mindset. It’s incredibly honest and insightful and brings together community of whom maybe felt like the only one in their world, now finding many others who felt the same.
My only wish is the power and strength that comes with Punk Rock was pushed more. The songs hold a lot of power and rage, they often express that deeper emotion fuelling these hardships however what should be sudden blast of music often felt like a slow burn. I wanted to feel blown away, that urge to jump up and join in. As the play is so fierce in its opinion it just needed a huge rush in its music performance.
This piece is not only uplifting but very eye opening, it pushes the boundaries to what a performance should be and therefore is an extremely memorable experience.
Reviewer: Alice Rose
Reviewed 22nd June 2024
North West End UK Rating: