A powerful co-production between Orange Tree Theatre and Actors Touring Company, Michele Lee’s ‘Rice’ is a feast of diverse delight, pushing the labels of culture and ambition in a gendered workplace.
As stated by the award-winning writer Michele Lee, Rice is ‘a collusion of ambition and gender.’ Following the web of secrets spun by Executive Officer Nisha (Hasan) and cleaner Yvette (Lam), ‘Rice’ is a drama reflecting the effects of globalisation and female friendship. The conflict is succinct: Nisha is bluffing her way through a massive deal at her rice production company, while Yvette dreams of conducting her own business. The themes tug on our heartstrings: two women trying to take up space and prove their worth while falling prey to their desires. Food lies at the heart of it all, whether flung at CEOs by protestors or shared in comfort at desks, ‘Rice’ is a dish best served with urban loneliness.
The set is an open-space cubicle with a water-oozing moat, featuring a multi-purpose table, which also doubles as a toilet and a bed, favouring the person sitting across it with power. The intimate setting allows the actors to address the audience through every scene. Hasan and Lam display their acting prowess with boundless physicality and versatile accents. Sharing various roles between themselves, they entertain with banter and breakdowns. Lam has the audience in splits even when she is silently eating food at the infamous table. The lighting is smart and simple: clinical during the office scenes, warm orange in India and flickers during the elevator scenes.
‘Rice’ challenges identity in the modern landscape. Hasan’s Nisha contemplates and negotiates the label of what it means to be a ‘real Indian’, while Yvette honours her duty to choose what’s important to her. The use of accents here is genuine and necessary to the characters, however, it’s their reception at times that seem misconstrued by the audience; one wonders whether accents serve as authenticity or comedy to Western audiences, but director Matthew Xia balances the playful yet introspective performances throughout.
Name of Production: Rice
Year of Production: 2021
Venue: Orange Tree Theatre
Cast: Sarah Lam, Zainab Hasan
Director: Matthew Xia
Writer: Michele Lee
Music/Composer: Lex Kosanke
Designer: Hyemi Shim
Lighting Designer: Bethany Gupwell
Movement Director: Asha Jennings-Grant
Producers/Production Company: Actors Touring Company, Orange Tree Theatre
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