Photo: Craig Fuller
Writer: AJ Yi
Director: Emily Ling Williams
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When viewed from half a world away, anti-government protests look very different from what is experienced amid the turmoil. Cleverly, AJ Yi’s play A Playlist for the Revolution looks at the 2019 Hong Kong uprisings from both perspectives. Their play is receiving its world premiere at the Bush Theatre.
Yi lures the audience in with opening scenes which promise a teenage romcom, but then they take us to the heart of a modern political struggle. Jonathan is a 19-year-old Maths undergraduate at Hong Kong University; attired in a neat designer suit and tie, he is conventional and a little stuffy, but he is conflicted between the pull of his conservative roots and the pressure to react to a new reality.
Jonathan plays the piano, preferring Chopin over Beethoven, but he strives to become more Chinese. In relation to the growing protest movement, he is a “blue” (ie neutral). He meets Chloe, of similar age, who is visiting from London; she is of Hong Kong origin, but had moved overseas with her family many years earlier; she adores Beyoncé and is much more chilled out than Jonathan. Her stance on the uprisings is “yellow” (pro), even though she hates Coldplay.
Chloe returns to England after the brief encounter, but the couple remain in touch via various internet platforms and they put together joint playlists of songs with revolutionary themes. Meanwhile, Jonathan is becoming influenced by a much older college janitor, Mr Chu, who had taken part in protests over several decades. Encouraged by his new friend and by more gentle coaxing from afar by Chloe, Jonathan moves towards becoming a “yellow”.
The first act of director Emily Ling Williams’ stirring open stage production feels slightly overlong, as the play dances around its key themes rather than addressing them directly. However, Yi’s skill in blending drama with comedy is hugely impressive and this quality in their writing is strengthened by a tremendous performance from Liam Lau-Fernandez as Jonathan. He is boy and then man, passionate and then comical, utterly convincing at all times.
Mei Mei Macleod exudes youthful energy as the seemingly carefree Chloe. Her sympathies lie with the pro-democracy protesters, but she only has to watch from the sidelines, never imagining becoming directly involved. Zak Shukor is both funny and moving as the battle-hardened and lusty Mr Chu, talking of his lady friends as he assembles Molotov cocktails.
A fiery second act ends in anticlimax with an epilogue that does not really work, but Yi’s sadness at the stifling of individual expression under an increasingly authoritarian regime shines through clearly. The play’s core messages are heavy, but they are never allowed to weigh it down and moments of delicate humour spring out in the most unexpected places. The outcome is a play that is as entertaining as it is enlightening.
Performance date: 29 June 2023
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