Type – Chinese-Australian Diaspora, Festive, Heartfelt
If you liked – A Christmas Carol, Boom (2023 at KXT)
A Chinese Christmas: It may feel like a spin on A Christmas Carol, but there’s no Dickens to be seen in this culturally rich, festive season show
Christmas, a time where families – chosen, inherited or blood related – gather for exchanges of celebration, love, joy, and a heap of food. Some try to avoid politics around the dinner table, tiptoeing around a rather outspoken, chronically online aunt. Others, reminisce on loved ones they’ve lost that year, or jump on Zoom to speak to loved ones overseas abroad. For those who may not celebrate the event itself, the holiday season still gifts the one thing we say we don’t have enough of: time.
Time and love, two inextricably intertwined things in our lives. Both come and go in our lives, both we wish to bring back. Trent Foo‘s A Chinese Christmas explores these two concepts through the lens of heritage, culture and honouring our loved ones, even if it means facing uncomfortable truths along the way.
Foo plays Heepa, a young Chinese Australian who’s seemingly thrust into the spiritual realm of his ancestors convened by an ominously orchestrating Lady Dai (Jolin Jiang). Heepa wants his ancestors help in mending his relationship with his Paw Paw – his grandmother (Tiang Lim) – in time for Christmas. There’s something Heepa is leaving out, something unspoken that he must discover if he wants help from the ancestors gathered.
And who are those ancestors? Us! Imagine, if you will, that scene from Mulan where Mulan is asking for the help and guidance from her ancestors in the family temple. Then as she leaves, Mushu wakes them all up and they gather around to discuss how best to help Mulan in her mission. That’s the sort of setting that Foo summons for Heepa – as someone who’s non-Chinese, it felt the closest thing that the text’s imagery conjured in my pop-culture infused wiring.
A Beautifully Guiding Hand
Directed by Monica Sayer, A Chinese Christmas is infused with a rich cultural authenticity that seeks to welcome, to guide and to teach throughout. Setting the text at Christmas, Foo makes a simple connection and entrance through which to guide the “whities” as Heepa exclaims – it’s okay, he can say that because he’s half white he jokes. Sayer’s direction inriches the semi-monologue production with a clear sense of heart as Foo explores notions of the migrant diaspora, as well as identity for those growing up in a cross-cultured household.
Jiang’s composition and Cameron Smith‘s sound design is omniscient throughout. It’s always there in the background, taking the role of an undercurrent of energy throughout the stiller moments or transporting Heepa through time and memory. On stage, Jiang scores the piece on a variety of instruments, which adds an authentic soundscape to Heepa’s interactions with his Paw Paw. It’s a gorgeously articultate throughline that ties the piece together.
The Writing and Development
Foo plays both writer and performer, with the language of the text finding itself comfortable in his own body. The reveal at the end of the piece is foreseeable long before the penny drops, but the journey on which we travel there is nonetheless interesting as Heepa finds his way.
There are elements that seemed added on to pad out the runtime, and others that required more of a foundation to pack a more powerful punch. Heepa’s confrontation with his Paw Paw seemingly comes out of nowhere and could have laid out more of a personal distortion on his journey as he avoids facing this very uncomfortable reality.
Is A Chinese Christmas Worth Seeing in Sydney?
With A Chinese Christmas only running for a week as KXT’s last show for 2025 (crazy!), there’s much to be learned from this new piece of work. As a first draft, there’s a beautiful foundation in its cultural richness and its ability to meld worlds together – both real and spiritual. Ultimately, it’ll leave you rethinking just how you should approach your loved ones this holiday season. Do it with love, because time is unforgiving.
Tickets and Practical Info for A Chinese Christmas in Sydney 🎟️
Until 20th December, KXT on Broadway, Ultimo
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/a-chinese-christmas
Director Monica Sayers; with Trent Foo | 符志陀; Tiang Lim | 林珍妮; and Musician Jolin Jiang | 蒋钟毓
Languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese.
Props Designer & Costume Assistant: Georgia Grubelich; Sound Designer: Cameron Smith; Lighting Designer: Cat Mai; Composer: Jolin Jiang | 蒋钟毓 ; Set & Costume Designer: Amy Lane; Stage Manager: Coco Tong
Development Producer: Tiffany Wong; Dramaturges: John Harrison, Adam Yoon | 尹 Denis Curnow; Publicity & Marketing: Kabuku PR; Production: FooFrame Productions
Runtime: Approx. 70mins
