Is it possible for a theatre production to be bingeworthy?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
If White Pearl was a Netflix series, it would have you up until all hours of the morning, saying "just one more episode".
For director Priscilla Jackman, she had the same feeling when she sat down to first read Anchuli Felicia King's script for White Pearl.
"It's this absolute page-turner where you think, 'Oh, my gosh, I can't believe they've just said that'. And then the next page, it's worse, and the next page. It's like what is going to come out of these characters' mouths?" she says.
"It has something to do with the power of the dramatic rhythm that Felicia set up, and also the idiosyncratic speech patterns of each of the characters."
The latest Sydney Theatre Company production to come to Canberra Theatre, White Pearl plays out in the oh-so-cool Singapore headquarters of Clearday, an upstart player in the Asian skincare game. Sales of their new range of skin whitening cream, White Pearl are going through the roof, and the ambitious team of young women - and their token white man - have their eyes to the sky. That is until their new television commercial is leaked online and starts going viral for all the wrong reasons.
READ MORE:
The black comedy plays into this question of whether or not all publicity is good publicity. But in doing so, it also tackles some big themes, most notably racism, to create what some may find to be an uncomfortable night at the theatre.
"There's this overriding theme which is very interesting, particularly for a white audience, that deals with lateral racism, and Pan Asian relationships between different Asian cultures, which certainly as a white western woman, it was new to me," Jackman says.
"And this subverts that terrible western stereotype that all Asian countries are the same and it's some sort of monolithic culture. It looks at the differences between how we relate to each other as humans, particularly under pressure, and then there's a whole myriad of other themes."
Actors Deborah An and Shirong Wu have been a part of White Pearl since the production began. In that time they've not only helped shape their characters, Soo-Jin Park and Xiao Chen - with Jackman and the productions other creatives keen to create collaborative relationships with the cast - but have seen the impact that continually has on audiences.
"Although the play is based in Singapore and evolves around Pan Asian women, representing different parts of Asia, and the types of people that could come from their country, it's also very relevant for everyone who has ever come into contact with someone who is not of the same race and background and upbringing as them," An says.
"Sometimes in the Q&As that we hold, we can get a very white audience, and they sometimes ask the question, how does this apply to us? How is it relevant for us, who aren't from a Pan Asian background?
"But I think the themes and the nuances between the themes that Felicia dissects are so applicable because racism isn't something that is in one culture. It expands over different generations and different cultures and somewhere along the line, as much as we hate to admit, we have been in a situation where we get frustrated because someone's English isn't perfect and we can't quite understand them."
- White Pearl is at the Canberra Theatre Centre from April 27 to 30. For tickets go to canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram