Writer: Yilong Liu
The more shows you see at the Edinburgh Fringe, the more you realise how many are about processing grief. In this instance, Chinese American Raymond has flown to New York City from San Diego to spend time with Andrew, boyfriend of his dead son Archie.
From the beginning, there’s a twist. Despite being a show focusing on the absence of someone, we are privileged with flamboyant vignettes of Archie throughout the show, which enrich it by providing context, personality and humour. He gives the first of a series of references to the Chinese Classic Of Mountains And Seas, extracting the moral from one tale that “the bird is stupid”. It’s this collision between the epic on the one hand, and banal contemporary realities on the other, that give the show its distinctive flavour.
Andrew is a photographer who scrapes a living picturing couples at their ad hoc weddings, and acting as a witness for them. He also has some great lines. At one point he urges a bride to give him a “classy” look, then asks for a “slutty” one.
More laughs come from the awkward pairing of Raymond and Andrew, the former seeking a deeper meaning in Archie’s online restaurant reviews and suggesting that they visit all 179 culinary establishments together, in an improbably short timeframe. In the end, Andrew agrees to accompany Raymond on a three-day odyssey.
While the staging is quite simple, the actors adjust a spotlight to create a variety of effects and atmospheres. Some of the dialogue is a little on-the-nose, and we get the predictable scene of Raymond being taken to a gay bar, but it’s this dad’s capacity to surprise with unexpected thoughts and actions that keep the audience on its toes. He reveals that his wife is unsettled by his obsession with Archie’s reviews; she wants a divorce and a return to China.
“What did I do so wrong?” wails Raymond, revealing how they uprooted and moved to America for Archie’s sake.
Andrew is perplexed by the assumption that he has answers to these kinds of questions, but does his best. The result is a tender and relatable piece of drama that suggests the gulf between people is often more bridgeable than we expect.
Runs until 25 August 2024 | Image: Contributed
The Reviews Hub Score
Touching and funny
