GOLDEN BLOOD is a personal story told by playwright Merlynn Tong, who also plays one of the two characters. We know from the first sentence of Merlynn’s program note that her mother committed suicide. Her play is a complicated psychological drama of two children of a mother who ended her own life. This is one of those personal stories that doesn’t translate easily to drama.
Set in Singapore, the first scene is a few hours after the funeral of the mother. The brother, age 21, and the sister, age 14, must deal with the many Chinese beliefs about suicide. Will it bring the orphans bad luck? Will they inherit their mother’s instability? Will their mother’s ghost bedevil them?
The story hinges on who will be the guardian of the young girl. The brother convinces his sister that ‘blood’ ties require him to be the one to look after her interests. Yet, he is a member of criminal gang and a hopeless dreamer. He has schemes he convinces both himself and his sister will make them rich. So rich they will be able to go to Australia, save the marsupials and see the beaches. She aspires to becoming a veterinarian in Australia. The many references to the koala and beaches are gratuitous and don’t add much to the story.
The story moves on in two or three year segments. The sister and brother remain deeply bonded. The only hint of outsiders are the knocks at the door by members of various gangs. There is no mention of the teenage sister’s school friends or teachers. She is completely stuck to the brother. He introduces her to drugs. They start a business buying gold and investments. It is unbelievable that she doesn’t tweak that it’s a ponzi scheme. Has the Chinese curse of their mother’s death caused the collapse of the business? Will the duped investors take their revenge?
The ending is predictable from the first scene when the two sign the guardianship agreement – it’s the money. It’s her’s, but he gets it as her ‘keeper’. This brings out another set of Chinese traditions about money, especially gold. To find out what the Chinese traditions are, they have to google. And they are spooked.
There are unhelpful ‘fillers’ in the story, especially the sister’s solo dancing scenes that may be there to indicate the passage of time. The intermittent music, by Rainbow Chan, provides a jarring reminder of the past tragedy and predicts the forthcoming misfortunes for the brother.
The best part is the wonderful acting by Charles Wu. Handsome, agile and a possessing a marvelous smile, he makes a lovable gangster. Merlynn is a fine actor and a good counterfoil to Wu.
GOLDEN BLOOD was first produced by the Griffin Theatre and received good reviews. This is a Sydney Theatre Company production directed by Tess Leong. It is billed as a coming-of-age play that is ‘hilarious’.
Merlynn Tong’s GOLDEN BLOOD is playing Wharf 2 Sydney Theatre Company until 13th October 2024.
Production photography by Prudence Upton
http://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2024/golden-blood
