Following the successful online premiere of Falling, Late Company, and Dragonflies, Pangdemonium is bringing something more lighthearted to our screens. The play in question? Its 2015 production of Chinglish, David Henry Hwang's comedy of Mandarin manners which was rapturously received by audiences.
Performed in English and Mandarin, the story follows an American businessman (Daniel Jenkins) with a shady past who travels to China to seal a lucrative deal for his business. There, he meets a colourful menagerie of characters, each with a hidden agenda. There's a gorgeous femme fatale (Oon Shu An), a three-faced politician (Adrian Pang), and a series of increasingly incompetent interpreters. As the protagonist weaves his way through situations with dodgy business partners, and in bed with mysterious sleeping partners, he soon realises what he has gotten himself into.
An apt comedy for the times, Chinglish is a satire of the loathe-hate relationship between the US and China, how love and business can get lost in transl-Asian, and that no matter what language we speak, we all have the same needs, desires and dreams.
The production will be streamed with captions, completely free on Vimeo from 8pm on Friday, May 15 to 11.59pm on Thursday, May 21 on playdate.pangdemonium.com. If you're watching with young children, do take note that Chinglish was given an Advisory 16 (some mature content and coarse language).