★★★★✰
Inspired by stories told by Asian international students from the University of Nottingham, Nottingham New Theatre’s The Conversation follows Arora (Shreya Suri), Collie (Victoria Bell) and Christine (Magdalene Soh), who are waiting for a flat inspection. It’s the first time the trio have met and after a few awkward silences, conversation gradually turns to Christine’s culture, and her experiences of living in the UK.
The actresses’ portrayal of the characters are spot on, and they gel together so well, it doesn’t feel like they are acting. Bell nails the role of Collie. She dominates the conversation, firing intrusive questions and racist statements that she believes to be complements at Christine until she gets the responses she wants. She has no self-awareness, but believes she is progressive as some of her friends are non-binary. Suri as Arora has great facial expressions, particularly throughout the long pauses at the start of the show. At first, she gangs up on Christine with Collie, but when Collie realises she is Indian and directs microaggressions her way too, she does begin to stand up for Christine. However, she never fully befriends Christine, instead remaining in the middle, which helps to demonstrate the isolation that Asian international students face.
Soh skilfully evokes sympathy for the character of Christine, without making her seem like a victim. She is extremely patient towards Collie, explaining repeatedly that she can be both Chinese, and from Singapore. Her sweet demeanour makes it even harder to watch the other girls exclude her from conversations and break into coughing fits whenever she tries to eat.
There are a few bizarre scenes thrown in, including an innuendo-laden yoga demonstration, but lots of the scenes are really effective in demonstrating the underlying racism that exists both in universities and in the wider public. At one point Collie dons a sequinned jacket and hosts a chat show called ‘The Conversation’, where she grills Christine about the worst hate crimes she has experienced. This shows how mainstream media does not really care about how those who are victims of racism feel. An earlier scene in which Collie and Arora throw nonsense words into their stories highlights the difficulties that international students have in understanding local slang.
A deep dive into isolation and fetishization of Asian culture, The Conversation isn’t always an easy watch, but it is a necessary one, especially for university students.
The Conversation will be shown at theSpace on North Bridge on 22, 24 and 26 August as part of Edinburgh Fringe.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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