Scenes From a Yellow Peril

Artwork created by Kerry Ann Lee.

A co-production between Auckland Theatre Company, SquareSums&Co, and Oriental Maidens.

Written by Nathan Joe, Directed by Jane Yonge

By arrangement with Playmarket.

Louise Jiang, photo by Andi Crown

An uncomfortable, playful and enlightening provocation on racism and privilege in Aotearoa.

This is a doom scroll disguised as a play: a world premiere from an arresting new voice. A meta-analysis of Asian identity, carved into razor-sharp scenes that cut to the cultural quick. Scenes from a Yellow Peril is less a play, more a series of insights that, when taken together, expose the pain of the way in which some people are othered but whose experience will not be denied.

From award-winning Chinese-New Zealand writer, actor, poet and general polymath Nathan Joe, the work dissolves the traditional play format into a rapid-fire collection of snapshots and observations, flickering past in a rush of live music and hard-to-hear truths.

A dizzying mix of humour and rage, commentary and confessional, this is a theatre experience that packs a punch.

“Heartbreakingly personal, gloriously queer, furiously political and unexpectedly funny, Nathan Joe’s writing is devastatingly acute in its observation of the East-Asian New Zealand experience. I invite you to listen to Nathan; his is a vital voice we need to hear.” – Jonathan Bielski

REVIEWS

“...delivers a unique blend of theatre, poetry, and music that is magical.”

Andrew Whiteside

“A knock-out performance, delivered with rapid-fire precision.”

Theatre Scenes

“I loved it. Scenes from a Yellow Peril joins the likes of Wild Dogs Under My Skirt as great poetry collections reimagined as even better shows for the stage.”

Metro Magazine

“Jane Yonge has done a tremendous job of manifesting emotion through the rhythm, staging, movement and pacing.”

Rat World Magazine