"From Old Bean Grow Bak Choy"; a captivating, powerful play
This article was written by one of our Young Reporters, a scheme that gives 14 to 18-year-old school students a chance to write for a real newspaper. Find out more at the Young Reporter website.
'Old Bean'-an idiom for men deemed ‘old-fashioned’ by Cambridge Dictionary.
'Bak Choy'-a “Chinese Cabbage” according to Merriam-Webster.
Combining her migration from Hong Kong to the UK due to political turmoil with her late father’s migration from Mainland China to Hong Kong decades before-"From Old Bean grows Bak Choy" creator Phoebe Chan, (Chan Yuk Lan) strings the terms seamlessly, encapsulating her story in a unique name.
"At first, I actually called the piece simply Lau Dau(老豆)"A term used in HK for dads, and in a literal translation, ‘old bean’.
"But then after some people watch it, (…) they said (...) you’re not just talking about your dad-you’re also talking about yourself. So, I began to think of another title."
She recalls the moment, "This English idiom(…) from a small seed grows a root or a forest."
"In the play Bak Choy is a symbol of resilience, and some people say that represents me."
“After migrating to the UK for 4 years now,” Phoebe reflected, “My neighbours or the plumber or the electrician – sometimes I can sense that they are not entirely clear about why we migrated to the UK."
“‘Why do you choose to come to the UK?’ Without realising the political situation in HK has become so bad that many people just need to leave. For some it is not even a matter of choice."
"How can I help them understand that situation-and being a theatre practitioner, I think of stitching together a theatre piece to tell those stories."
However, she feels audiences are 60% 'HongKongers'.
“At first I was saying "Why bother coming to see my performance, you know these stories very well-"” She joked.
“But then many people told me(…) ‘You helped me tell me story, (...) through your play you actually help me sort out those feelings and articulate in a way I understood my own experiences better.’
Many share this profound reaction.
“I still recall,(…) there is a family from Ukraine. One of them was a teenage boy.”
She recounts his shyness, avoiding her gaze while performing.
“But then I was talking about (…)how devastated I feel seeing Hong Kong collapse.”
“At that bit I found him particularly engaged, and he didn’t say anything afterwards. But after the play he just went up to say ‘can I give you a hug’.”
“And we hugged.”
When asked if she expected the responses received from her performances, she replied promptly.
“I think the play needs to touch people’s hearts- I think that’s what a powerful drama should do."
"I was thinking how can I make them (non-HongKongers) connect with my piece. And I think my bond with my dad would be something that would be universal enough."
"Even though people don’t feel the political oppression as much as us-they can still feel the connection between a father and a daughter."
"Whatever background they have, whichever country they come from, I think that was something I was expecting.”
