[Other] chinese Play

INFO

Name	[Other] chinese
Year	2017
Company	White_mess
Playwright	Alice Canton
Artform	Theatre

ABOUT

Developed through a series of open-call workshops in 2017 that invited 100 Chinese New Zealanders to share their lived experiences of being in Aotearoa, OTHER [chinese] is a documentary theatre work that brings together a group of non-actors — usually 25–30 people — to share insights from their lives. Incorporating storytelling, video interviews and Q&As, the work ultimately challenges the idea of a monolithic cultural identity.

Honouring the process and allowing for a genuine search for truth was critical to the original development of the work. “I went into this project thinking it was going to be about the commonality of the experience of being Chinese,” reflected Canton at the time. “I thought we were going to be having complex conversations about identity, internalised racism, and being a minority — which for me is what I wanted to talk about. I went into the space with a liberal agenda for the conversation and this was absolutely not the case… you say something about internalised racism and three-quarters of the room have no idea what you’re talking about.”

OTHER [chinese] debuted at the Loft at Q Theatre in 2017 and received the Hackman Cup for Most Original Show and Excellence in Overall Production at the Auckland Theatre Awards 2017, as well as being named Best Show of 2017 by Metro magazine. Writing in The Pantograph Punch, Amy Weng reflected, “The show doesn’t draw any neat conclusions about what is or what is not Chinese. Instead, it unleashes a collective howl against the prevailing wind.” Jean Balchin wrote of the Dunedin season:

OTHER [chinese] grapples with issues of identity, longing, belonging, acceptance, displacement — of the self, but also with and by the community. It’s a space for intersectional reflection. Participants are encouraged to think about identity in relation to a number of factors, including gender, class, education, privilege, and nationality.

Versions of this work have since been presented at the Festival of Colour (2021), Dunedin Arts Festival (2021) and Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires (2023)