Yellow Gentlemen is a new play, opening next week as part of the China in London season. Written by Benjamin Yeoh who has been described as one of the hottest new writing talents since featuring in the Battersea Arts Centre New Writing season in 2004, the play is a contemplation of lead character Tommy Lee's life. He is old and dying and waiting for his daughter to come to him. But before he can pass away, two men must find out his secret and they will stop at nothing to know what Tommy knows - the secret could change their lives forever.
Not only does the play promise to be a well-written piece of new drama, it is also a rare example of the British-Chinese experience explored on stage. The "inscrutable" Chinese have not had many outings on stage (Shaolin monks don't really count) and the stories of all the individuals and families who struggled to give up the Oriental for the Occidental are often left untold. Yeoh's play aims to change this, telling Tommy Lee's story from his migration to Britain in the 1950s to the present day and exploring all his experiences of race and class in this, his new homeland. While London turns its attention to the Chinese community in its midst during February as China in London continues, the play supports the many other events that hope to open up the sometimes closed community that has so many stories to tell and so many things to share.
Yellow Gentlemen opens at the Oval House theatre on 14th February and finishes on 4th March. For more information and to book tickets, please go to the Oval House website here. For more information about the China in London season, please go here.
