Welcome to the live taping of the first ever prime-time Asian sitcom in Aotearoa. It’s a blazing moment in canned-laughter history, but behind the cheerful trash-talk lies a more sinister question: given a seat at the table, how much are you willing to compromise everything you stand for?
Clever, probing, and anarchically cheeky, The First Prime-Time Asian Sitcom by Nahyeon Lee, is a genre-messing black comedy that exposes the conversations haunting our writers rooms and the characters that swing between subversion and stereotype.
This thrillingly unique-to-Aotearoa premiere comes from writer, filmmaker and producer Nahyeon Lee. Building on development seasons with both Proudly Asian Theatre’s Fresh Off The Page and Kia Mau’s Breaking Ground, this work marks Lee’s playwriting debut and follows the success of her short film Sixteen, which was selected for the San Diego Asian Film Festival (2020), the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (2020) and Show Me Shorts (2021).
This script was first developed through Proudly Asian Theatre's Fresh Off The Page programme with Dramaturg, Eleanor Bishop.
Proudly supported by the Asia New Zealand Foundation and Q Theatre.
Audience notes: The First Prime-Time Asian Sitcom contains mention of racial violence. The performance on the 16th of November will be filmed.
Cast Ariadne Baltazar Dawn Cheong Uhyoung Choi Jehangir Homavazir Jess Hong
Creatives Direction: Ahi Karunaharan Playwright / Assistant Direction: Nahyeon Lee Design: Jen Lal Design: Natasha Ovely Design: Paige Pomana Design: John Verryt Design: Minsoh Choi
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