The Golden Phoenix, a restaurant on the Sunshine Coast. The last customers have left for the night, and Pearl can unwind. She’s the quintessential matriarch balancing family, business, and her love of karaoke. Enter her daughters: Zoe, in the throes of online dating, and making big life decisions; while Mei, a teenager, grapples with her identity in modern Australia. Of course they see the world differently to their mother. Pearl provides the classic (hilarious) onslaught of embarrassing observations, constantly questioning her Westernised children. Tonight she reveals a secret that threatens to tear their family apart.
Skewering race and gender in contemporary society, Michelle Law’s debut play is as fierce and funny as it is vital. It’s Australian domesticity like you’ve never seen it before.
Reading Australia has produced an extensive teacher pack for the play, download here. A study guide is also available from Belvoir Theatre, download here.
