Minh Ly makes his professional debut as a playwright with Ga Ting, meaning “family” in Cantonese, a play that explores the sensitive subjects of death and sexuality within the Chinese-Canadian community.
Ga Ting, playing at the Richmond Cultural Centre, tells the story, in English and Cantonese, of an immigrant Chinese couple, who not only have to deal with their son’s death, but also have to come to terms with the fact he was gay — and that he had a Caucasian partner.
Michael Antonakos plays Matt, who was not invited to the funeral, and is meeting his partner’s parents for the first time. Antonakos explains how closely the story is rooted in reality.
“Each person has their own way of expressing love, and I think when it’s different it can really intimidate and scare certain cultures and people who have beliefs that have been instilled over many generations.
“In the Chinese community, sexuality is something that we don’t talk about,” says BC Lee, who plays the father character, Hong Lee. He hopes the production can help open up dialogue on culturally taboo subjects.
“In the multicultural community, I think it’s time that we have the courage to face opinions that we are not familiar with, situations that we not comfortable with, and I think that is always a good thing – whether it’s about sexuality or not.”
Travelling from Hong Kong to play the female lead role of Mai Lee, the mother of the deceased, actress Alannah Ong says the play carries a very important message of family harmony.
“In most Asian families, the parents are very traditional. They would not want to admit that their children are not straight. They find it a little bit shameful to the family. That’s why if the children are like that, then they have no way of telling their parents about how they feel.”
She hopes that the play will help break down barriers within families, something she sees as a problem in families as the children begin to grow into adults.
“Especially for Asian parents. They feel that if they give money to support their children, it’s enough to show they love them, but in fact, they need to express, not only by giving money, they should really say, ‘I love you, and I care for you’ and they should really go and understand the children and their struggles through their world.”
Ga Ting will be performing at the Richmond Cultural Centre from Saturday, March 22 to Sunday, March 30.
