Review: May 35th (Southwark Playhouse Elephant)
- Sam - Admin
- May 31, 2024
- 4 min read
Review by Dan Sinclair
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
At the mention of the Tiananmen Square protests of June 4th (or May 35th) 1989, that image comes to mind, the Tank Man - the lone figure standing in front of 4 tanks. Personally, through my Western complacency and 35 years of Chinese State Censorship, I've found it all too easy to merely remember it as just this image. May 35th, written by Candace Chong Mui Ngam, is a surprisingly tender piece of political theatre that asks us to remember always, and imagine what could be.
Originally commissioned in 2017, Candace Chong began by conducting in-depth interviews with the Tiananmen Mothers in Bejing - the victims' families who refused to be silenced by the Chinese authorities no matter the cost. From this emerged May 35th. We see the tragedy of Tiananmen Square played out through two parents 30 years on, Siu Lum and Ah Dai who simply want to light a candle on the square for their son. This production was first staged in the summer of 2019 at the Hong Kong Art Centre for which it picked up 5 awards at the 29th Hong Kong Drama Awards. The piece was then streamed online and subsequently performed in Taiwan and Japan. The play's success was at a timely point in history. The Government of Hong Kong proposed the Extradition Bill, allowing political extraditions of citizens to China. The anti-extradition protests happened only two weeks after this production finished its initial run.
This is a play formed amid a political revolt, and that is reflected in almost every aspect of the final performance. Due to new and dangerous National Security laws (introduced in March of this year), this show is now banned in Hong Kong and many of the company are only to be referred to by their character's name or a pseudonym for their protection. And you will see why I needed to clarify that in about five seconds.
Before discussing the performances and play itself, I want to talk about the exceptional set design by Hong Kong-style Pineapple Bun with Butter. It is hard to imagine this set being designed for anywhere but the Southwark Playhouse Elephant. Set against the theatre’s grey concrete wall, this set was packed full of wonderful detail. The concrete and paintwork were faded in the parts of the room they lean on the most, the floor tiling stained by time and exposed steel rods go high above our heads. There was such a clear sense of how well-lived this apartment is.
The lighting design by Lily Chan was unafraid to cast bold shadows and spotlights across the stage, it perfectly suited the overall tone of the play and created some haunting images. I’m still thinking about the light thrown on Ah Dai during his monologue where he recounts observing the first few days of the peaceful protest. It was truly beautiful. Sound design from RON was primarily used in the scene changes. If the lighting was beautiful at times, the sound design was utterly distressing in the best way possible. Industrial crashes, sirens, TV channels, chanting and singing were all used to set up our expectations for the next scene. Each one was completely distinct from the one prior.
As I said earlier, this is theatre that is political right to its core. And with that comes the kind of dialogue you would expect from this style. As mentioned by almost every member of the creative team, through Siu Lum and Ah Dai - this is a show that wants to platform the voices of those Tiananmen Mothers who have been silenced for so long. The apartment is the one place where they can speak completely freely. Therefore, gentle naturalism will not always do. At many points in the play, I was reminded of the dialogue of Bertolt Brecht. It has a bluntness to it. Characters tell us what they want and precisely how they feel, there’s little second-guessing. The Tiananmen Families and Mothers have been trying to tell the world how they feel and what they want to happen for 35 years.
While almost always balanced well by director Kim Pearce, there were a handful of moments where the show’s directness became a bit much. I particularly think of a speech by Siu Lum almost entirely comprised of the phrase ‘I want…’ However, these few and far-between moments were completely overpowered by exceptional monologues from both Siu Lum and Ah Dai. This is very much not a two-hander, however. The Young Man plays a handful of roles: a young music teacher, a student and Ah Dai’s nephew - a careerist climber. He brings a delicate physicality to each new character, it was always a joy to watch him on stage.
While this is a piece that needs some very slight tightening, eg: the chorus at the end of the play, this is a heartbreaking piece of political theatre that demands us to remember always. For Siu Lum and all the Tiananmen Mothers, all they want to do is ‘go to the square where he was murdered and have a really good cry.’ But they cannot. A surprisingly humorous play with some poignant moments, May 35th is well worth a watch.
May 35th is playing at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant until June 1st.