Joe Lui is a vibrant and natural performer. He speaks from the heart and that comes through in his latest work and why shouldn’t it because it is autobiographical. Lui was only 17 when he left Singapore and went into exile after refusing more than two and a half years compulsory military service. That made him a criminal, unable to return home. He has now turned the seven years that have transpired since into a live art experience.
His innermost thoughts, musings, feelings and peccadillos are laid bare for all of us to see, hear and appreciate, or not. Amusing, insightful and free flowing, Letters Home is Lui’s one-man show about cultural dissonance, confession and self-discovery. He presents a deeply personal and honest story about confronting his?past to forge his future. It is all there – the good, the bad and the deeply perverse. His thoughts are often sexual. Violence plays its part too.
Using Chinese myths and pop culture icons, Lui delves deep into the nature of his rebellious spirit that led him to decide not to return to Singapore. All is revealed through unsent letters to his parents, who he clearly shamed by leaving. His relationship with them was prickly at best. After all these years he still feels guilt and anger. Undeniably though, his life has been shaped by his fateful decision to leave the country of his birth. Lui ended up in Perth as an artist and performer. Although he has struggled to get by, he has worked with every major WA performing arts company and is an emerging writer with Black Swan State Theatre Company.
The stage at Theatreworks in St Kilda is a large floor space in front of tiered seating. Ceiling to floor plastic sheeting hugs the walls.
Lui begins atop a black stool in a corner of the room. In time, while talking, he prepares a meal (literally) of stock, vegetables, noodles and even a sausage in a heated bowl. The bowl is positioned at the centre of an attractive, red Chinese-style table, positioned on a round rug in the middle of the stage, above which are nine red lanterns. Two matching chairs sit alongside the table.On the back wall are two worn, grey open bookcases and a video screen which shows images of that which Lui talks about. It is an effective and endearing device.
But while I admire Lui’s honesty and appreciate both his authenticity and how “real” his reflections are, I tired of the material as the show progressed. I felt that even at 1 hour 15 minutes, it was too long and lost its way, leading to what I considered an inevitable conclusion. Perhaps, after a strong start, it is a case of reflecting upon what could/should be left out in order to keep the audience engaged throughout.
Letters Home, written and performed at Theatre Works by Joe Lui, is on until 12th July.
You can buy tickets at www.theatreworks.org.au.
Alex First
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television