By Eleanor Wilson
“Growing up as a Chinese kid in a very white part of Australia, my identity was always questioned,” recalls writer and media personality Benjamin Law.
“I may not speak the language of my ancestors, but the one language that does connect me with my cultural identity is food.”
This sentiment makes up the very core of immersive theatrical experience Double Delicious – which sees Law and four other Asian Australian creatives combine storytelling with cooking at Bunjil Place this weekend.
Double Delicious co-director Courtney Stewart said the best way to fast track connection was through sharing a meal together, which is why directors decided to immerse audiences in the show by giving them a taste of each performer’s dish.
“I think we generally underestimate what stories audiences want to hear and I think a show like Double Delicious proves audiences have an appetite for stories by human beings,” Ms Stewart says.
“What’s so great about these stories is it removes the us versus them model and it just gets people to engage with each other.”
The show features a diverse range of performers including Korean Australian chef Heather Jeong, who recalls meeting her father for the first time at the age of nine.
Dancer-choreographer Raghav Handa grapples with the loss of ritual, and how it fits into his contemporary life in Australia.
Performer Valerie Berry recalls the shock of moving, as a child, from bustling Manila to outback Ceduna.
Writer and comedian Jennifer Wong recounts the many kinds of sweetness that nourish and heal.
And writer Benjamin Law tells the hilarious story of growing up in the shadow of the Big Pineapple.
“Chinese in Australia have been here for over 200 years now, yet we’re still considered outsiders,” Mr Law said.
Born to immigrant parents in rural Queensland, Law said a major part of his upbringing was spent trying to suppress his Cantonese- Malaysian heritage.
“My teen years coincided with the rise of Pauline Hanson’s maiden speech and as a result you really want, partly out of shame, to bury your cultural identity,” he says.
“I felt both pride and shame at various points depending on where the political discussion was.“
Mr Law uses wontons, a dish rooted deeply in his Chinese ancestry, in the show as a launching pad to discuss notions of identity.
“There’s no such thing as a totally authentic wonton. Much like identity, you make it your own,” he said.
Double Delicious is playing at Bunjil Place from 20-21 May.
For tickets, head to bunjilplace.com.au/double-delicious
