Theatre review: The First Prime Time Asian Sitcom, Silo Theatre

Dawn Cheong, centre, is the standout in The First PrimeTime Asian Sitcom. Photo / Michael Smith

For a while, it’s not entirely clear where The First Prime-Time Asian Sitcom is going to go. The latest production from Silo Theatre welcomes the arrival of New Zealand’s first sitcom with a fully Asian cast and crew, the historic fact being hyped up at the start of the show by the director and showrunner (Dawn Cheong).

When the ‘live recording’ begins for the sitcom, my initial expectations were for a behind-the-scenes focus – a writer’s room is placed to the side of the main sitcom sets - but as the straight sitcom recording carries out, the slight cracks slip through that hints at the true behind-the-scenes chaos.

The sitcom proves to be just the starting point for a wider discussion about diversity, commercialisation and the pressures artists face in representing a community. In a way, TFPTAS has striking similarities to Silo’s previous work, The Writer. Both shows begin with a performance that segues into a panel discussion, with a focus on a female writer struggling to juggle their authentic voice with commercial sensibilities.

However, while both shows give way to fantastical moments unleashing the real inner voice of their heroines, TFPTAS manages to tell a more cohesive and insightful narrative that strikes a balance between a grounded story and a more energised outburst of emotion.

Writer Nahyeon Lee has written three distinct acts that fit flawlessly together even when the characters are falling apart. Her words perfectly capture the stereotypical beats and punchlines of a cheesy sitcom, before pointedly bringing to life a quintet of panellists and then diving into the mental break of the third act.

Uhyoung Choi, Ariadne Baltzazar, Jess Hong and Jehangir Homavazir in The First PrimeTime Asian Sitcom. Photo / Michael Smith

Her world is brought to life by the extraordinary cast. Cheong is the clear standout, only getting time to shine after the sitcom taping, but quickly steals the show as her showrunner character loses her grip on reality in the face of the impossible burden she has to carry. She is joined by Ariadne Baltazar, Uhyoung Choi, Jehangir Homavazir and Jess Hong, who perfectly embody sitcom stereotypes before breathing life into their briefer roles as conflicted writers and bickering panellists.

Director Ahi Karuhanaharan, assisted by Lee, ensures the three distinct parts have their own feel while working as a whole, before blowing it all up in the best climax an Auckland company has staged this year.

TFPTAS is a unique and entertaining show that does stand on its own, but it did remind me of the similar burden to Scenes from a Yellow Peril, Auckland Theatre Company’s work by Nathan Joe earlier this year. As we see more companies widen their audience and scope of their works, we see more playwrights and artists grapple with what it means for their work to be the Asian/Māori/Pasifika/LGBT+ play for that company for that year, and what it means for your work to represent an entire section of the population.

The freedom to be a broad, commercial, for-everyone work is not afforded to anything that steps outside the norm. The First Prime-Time Asian Sitcom proves a blunt but effective name summing up the struggle to be the ‘first’ and the baggage that comes with it. It’s a problem that Lee has tackled with subtle humour and poignant reflection, and hopefully the success of this brilliant production ensures this first is far from the last.

What: The First Prime-Time Asian Sitcom

Where: Q Theatre, until November 27