"I invited you into my past... And you invited me into your future."

Helen has grown up in the UK, but always felt a piece of her story was missing.

Visiting her mother’s birthplace of Hong Kong for the first time, she is determined to find out who she really is and where she belongs. Amidst the skyscrapers and bustling streets, she meets her grandmother, Lily Kwok, and steps into her past where she discovers shocking family secrets that will change her life forever.

This stylish and evocative new play by award winning writer In-Sook Chappell, tells the extraordinary story of the women behind the famous Manchester restaurant Sweet Mandarin. Based on Helen Tse’s bestselling family memoir of passion, sacrifice and survival across three generations held together with one lifeline- food.

The performance includes live cooking on stage.

UK Tour: March - June 2018

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Stratford Circus Arts Centre, London
Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds
Lighthouse, Poole
Key Theatre, Peterborough
Theatre Royal Margate
Derby Theatre
Watford Palace Theatre
Sheffield Crucible Theatre
Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

Creative team

Writer: In-Sook Chappell
Director: Jennifer Tang
Designer: Amelia Jane Hankin
Lighting Design: Amy Mae
Sound Design: Elena Peña
Composer: Ruth Chan
Casting Director: Jerry Knight-Smith CDG
Movement: Lucy Cullingford
Creative Producer: Kumiko Mendl
Tour Production Manager: Chris Frith
Stage Manager: Chris Radford
Assistant Stage Manager: Izzie Sullivan
Production Photographer: Jonathan Keenan

Cast

Siu-See Hung
Tina Chiang
Matthew Leonhart
Andy Kettu
Minhee Yeo
Ruth Gibson
Rina Takasaki