Have you wandered around London’s China Town lately? The pretty gates in Soho serve as a popular tourist attraction but have you ever wondered where the Chinese community in London actually lives? Not in Soho, that’s for sure, swamped as it is with actor’s agents and film post-production offices.
The Last Days of Limehouse invites audiences to enter the cultural memory of a forgotten past. It aims to reverse the cultural amnesia brought about by the big building cranes swooping over cities, and that sing the songs of redevelopment and community dislocation.
Although concerned with the past, Jeremy Tiang’s The Last Days of Limehouse might be one of the more urgent and relevant pieces out at the moment. Exploring a forgotten time when London’s East End was awash with Chinese immigrants, this production by Yellow Earth is a richly layered exploration of memory and heritage but it also forces us to take a look at how we as a society want to shape our future.
The story is of Asian-American banker’s wife Eileen Cunningham who in 1958 returns to her childhood home in Limehouse only to find that the area is about to be demolished to make room for modern buildings. The locals, a lot of them second or third generation immigrants, face the demise of their small businesses and personal relocation into council estates. The eradication of slums brings along the obliteration of history, and Chinese shops, restaurants and laundries, passed on from generation to generation, will turn into generic high streets.
Fxated on the idea to “Save Limehouse”, Mrs Cunningham looks for support among the locals. “You can’t just tear things to pieces and call it progress,” she cries in one of her meddling interventions. Amanda Maud gives the initially grating character a relatable urgency while ever so often letting slip through the melancholia that comes with not having a place to call home.
A young mother-to-be, Iris, is torn whether to support the brash American or not. Her mother taught Cantonese to the immigrants in Limehouse so they would be able to keep in touch with their roots. Iris is eager to preserve her mother’s memory; however, the redevelopment also promises a rise in living standards for her young family. Gabby Wong plays the conflicted young woman with a lot of warmth which complements Matthew Leonhart’s hotheaded husband. He, like Sarah Houghton’s Mary, questions the point of preserving an area that leaves residents in derelict buildings without access to running water. Here, personal interest clashes with the idea of preserving a community.
By putting the show into a stripped down promenade format in a spacious room in Limehouse Town Hall, Kumiko Mendl’s and Gary Merry’s direction brings out the themes in Tiang’s play effectively. It is true that community involvement, especially in the performing arts, is usually brandished like an almighty sword. The struggle of Mrs Cunningham illustrates how positive change for a community must come from within to make an impact. Yellow Earth have captured this beautifully and they engage with cultural memory in a meaningful way by examining the difference between remembering people or places.
Jonathan Chan deserves a mention for his tender performance as Stanley. In few words he creates a brittle character who despite a tendency for humorous interjections, struggles to adapt to the rash changes in his community. A gifted ensemble that creates atmosphere through dance and background activities completes the cast.
The Heritage Lottery funded piece is accompanied by an exhibition as well as a website and a downloadable audio tour which allows further exploration.