{"id":141883,"date":"2022-07-09T11:21:59","date_gmt":"2022-07-09T01:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=141883"},"modified":"2022-07-13T00:44:13","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T14:44:13","slug":"golden-blood-griffin-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/golden-blood-griffin-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Blood (Griffin) &#8211; theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Australia: The Lucky Country. And through the eyes of a teenage, orphaned girl in Singapore, it represents her dream, her hope for a better life and an escape from the emotional shackles that the death of her mother has dealt her. Although inspired by the early years of its writer Merlynn Tong, Golden Blood is a fictional, semi-epic tale of urban survival by two siblings, known to us simply as Girl (Merlynn Tong) and Boy (Charles Wu).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We first see Girl aged 14, just after her mum&#8217;s funeral. Her brother Boy is 21 and vows to take care of her, as their father also passed away many years earlier. Boy is a Singaporean gang member, a big-noter and would-be gangster. He has seen his mothers\u2019 Will and is able to take on a guardianship role in order to protect his sister\u2019s substantial inheritance until she comes of age. His valued possession is the parang, a nasty-looking and intimidating machete, which he gleefully demonstrates with dexterity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contrast, Girl clings onto her cuddly toy koala. Like a security blanket, she hopes to one day become a vet in Australia and \u201clook after all the marsupials&#8221;. The siblings could not be more different. Raised in a family that glorifies the accumulation of material goods, their views on life and the pursuit of happiness are worlds apart. Their Chinese heritage has also instilled deep views on the afterlife. Offerings to the spirits can include burning money in the hope of better fortunes here on Earth.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_141918\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-141918\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-141918 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_griffin_goldenblood_photobrettboardman_017134.jpg?resize=560%2C373&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_griffin_goldenblood_photobrettboardman_017134.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_griffin_goldenblood_photobrettboardman_017134.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/rsz_griffin_goldenblood_photobrettboardman_017134.jpg?resize=272%2C182&amp;ssl=1 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-141918\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photos by Brett Boardman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the course of the next seven years, Girl and Boy&#8217;s lives descend into some dark areas. All the &#8220;abuses&#8221; &#8211; alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling and financial &#8211;\u00a0turn up to test their strength. As they mature, the answers to their problems become evident, but that is not before they learn the meaning of traditional values. They need to wise up quickly, because there is one big secret about to blow their relationship as brother and sister.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Merlynn Tong is a great storyteller. Golden Blood has the drama, intrigue and emotional pull to maintain audience interest for the full 90 minutes. There is always a new angle or sub-plot that emerges and provides twists where we were not expecting any. And empathy is created by the carefully placed moments of humour. Merlynn is also a wonderful actor in her role as Girl. She is just as convincing as a frightened and lost 14-year-old as she is as the mature and worldly 35-year-old.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles Wu has full command of his part from start to finish and struts about the stage with confidence and vigour. As his character is convinced that love comes from status, money and power, Charles combines voice, body language and gestures to demonstrate his internal struggle.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The theatrics of the play are well-handled by director Tessa Leong. With a small stage area, her creative crew do wonders with lighting, sound, costumes, props and &#8230; sulphur.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Golden Blood is on at the SBW Stables Theatre until 30th July 2022. It is an exciting, fast-paced play, with never a dull moment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Paul Keily <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More from Paul Keily can be found at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.absolutetheatre.com.au\/\">www.absolutetheatre.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Australia: The Lucky Country. And through the eyes of a teenage, orphaned girl in Singapore, it represents her dream, her hope for a better life and an escape from the emotional shackles that the death of her mother has dealt her. Although inspired by the early years of its writer Merlynn Tong, Golden Blood is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":141917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[801],"tags":[3,7714,599],"class_list":["post-141883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre","tag-drama","tag-golden-blood","tag-sbw-stables"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Golden Blood (Griffin) - theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/golden-blood-griffin-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Golden Blood (Griffin) - theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Australia: The Lucky Country. And through the eyes of a teenage, orphaned girl in Singapore, it represents her dream, her hope for a better life and an escape from the emotional shackles that the death of her mother has dealt her. 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Boy moved out of home seven years ago and became a gang member, which he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/rsz_goldenblood_image_credit_prudenceupton_031.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/rsz_goldenblood_image_credit_prudenceupton_031.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/rsz_goldenblood_image_credit_prudenceupton_031.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/rsz_goldenblood_image_credit_prudenceupton_031.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":159720,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/milk-and-blood-fortyfivedownstairs-theatre-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":141883,"position":1},"title":"Milk and Blood (fortyfivedownstairs) &#8211; theatre reviews","author":"Alex First","date":"August 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Writer Benjamin Nichol continues his incendiary anthology series of plays with the double bill Milk and Blood. Each 70 minutes in duration, they concern the trials and tribulations of a single mother and a gay escort. Both are hard hitting and powerful monologues, presenting snippets of the lives of characters\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rsz_milk_and_blood_photo_sarah_walker-0498.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rsz_milk_and_blood_photo_sarah_walker-0498.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rsz_milk_and_blood_photo_sarah_walker-0498.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rsz_milk_and_blood_photo_sarah_walker-0498.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":147400,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/just-a-boy-standing-in-front-of-a-girl-fortyfivedownstairs-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":141883,"position":2},"title":"Just a Boy, Standing in Front of a Girl (fortyfivedownstairs) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"July 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"With five in the cast on a catwalk-like stage, this is a modern, generally slapstick and cartoonish interpretation of Euripides\u2019 Greek tragedy Medea.\u00a0In the historic work, Medea seeks revenge on her unfaithful husband.\u00a0In Jane Miller\u2019s Just a Boy, Standing in Front of a Girl, all the characters have received a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/rsz_just_a_boy_standing_in_front_of_a_girl_darren_gill-7373.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/rsz_just_a_boy_standing_in_front_of_a_girl_darren_gill-7373.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/rsz_just_a_boy_standing_in_front_of_a_girl_darren_gill-7373.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/rsz_just_a_boy_standing_in_front_of_a_girl_darren_gill-7373.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":170013,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/beau-jest-saltpillar-theatre-at-phoenix-theatre-in-elwood-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":141883,"position":3},"title":"Beau Jest (Saltpillar Theatre), at Phoenix Theatre in Elwood &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"May 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"I can\u2019t think of a Saltpillar Theatre endeavour that I have enjoyed more than this delightful production of Beau Jest. Premiering in Chicago in 1989, the romantic comedy written by James Sherman moves along at pace and is simply so much fun. It concerns a nice Jewish girl who dearly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rsz_img_0429.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rsz_img_0429.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rsz_img_0429.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rsz_img_0429.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":166742,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/blood-wedding-theatre-works-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":141883,"position":4},"title":"Blood Wedding (Theatre Works) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"July 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A blood feud that can only end badly, this has been adapted from the 1933 tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca. Two families are at loggerheads. They have been for generations. I draw a parallel to the antipathy between the Montagues and the Capulets in Romeo and Juliet. Extend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_bw_jmc_prodstills_bysmwimage-104_copy.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_bw_jmc_prodstills_bysmwimage-104_copy.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_bw_jmc_prodstills_bysmwimage-104_copy.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_bw_jmc_prodstills_bysmwimage-104_copy.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7115,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/two-hearts-kxt-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":141883,"position":5},"title":"Two Hearts (KXT) &#8211; theatre review","author":"David Edwards","date":"October 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Three recent drama school graduates - Katie Cawthorne, Jessica Arthur and Laura Lethlean - formed The Anchor company to produce theatre work. Over the past year they have developed this 60-minute play, Two Hearts. It comes from their experiences of past personal relationships and their perception of how important the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Two-Hearts-03.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Two-Hearts-03.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Two-Hearts-03.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Two-Hearts-03.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}