REVIEW: ASIAN PIRATE MUSICAL at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until 2 August 2026
‘an exciting future lays ahead for this ambitious project if the unresolved questions can be answered’ ★★★ ½
The show ‘Asian Pirate Musical’ is inspired by the real histories of the 14th century Muslim navigator Zheng He and the 19th century pirate queen Sek Yeong. Adding some time travel elements and modern topical issues of climate change and space travel, the musical directed by Zhui Ning Chang, navigates primarily around the emotional internal journey of five characters, all giving great performances that were energetic and dynamic.
A fictitious lone pirate named Nazar (played by Ashley Goh) sets sail on the Straits of Melaka towards the Java Sea under a red sky until a storm throws seafarers from across time and space onto the deck of the ship. Real life characters Zheng He (played by Yñaqui Tuason-Inocian) and Sek Yeong (played by Amanda Maud) are joined on stage by 23rd century space revolutionaries Keliling (played by Rai Endah) and Riang (played by Nebilah Hamid). The year is 2049.
Imagine the melting pot of personalities and characters, differing not only in terms of timelines and centuries, but also across intersecting lines of socio economic status, age, gender, profession and generational sense of identity. Curiosity and interests about the novelty of the unexpected situation soon descend into conflicts and disagreements. The internal journeys of the five characters get revealed. Relationships are being tested. They faced choices and decisions that started drawing some of them apart. Values and beliefs are being questioned. Roles and purpose of one’s life become the subject of discovery. Life and death took a new meaning as the characters shared acts of remembrance of ancestors and people who have left this world. In order to face the dangers of storms and sea monsters and overcome the climate change environment threatening all, they soon learnt that they have to collaborate and work together as one team in order to survive. Stuck together on the same ship.
The set was a static deck of a ship, complete with steering wheel, fishermen nets, wooden crates and pulleys and cords, beautiful creative works of the set and costume designer Mikayla Teodoro and her associate Naomi Zhang, blending a fusion of traditional orientalism style and patterns with western influence. Familiar sights include the ancestral worship altar with incense, mandarin fruits and bowls of offerings, and the ingredients in an East and South East Asian kitchen - pak choy, rice and soy sauce - to make the zhong zi, dumplings which five audience members were lucky to receive as gifts.
Special mention to the sound, music and lyrics team for creating such a complex soundtrack melding traditional instruments, 21st century Asian pop, and diasporic musical influences: The musical directors Amy Hsu and Nunt Ruddit, the lead composer Jade Leamcharaskul, the composer and lyricist Sarita Lewis, and the sound designer and mixer Vincci Chung. The soundtrack sounded complicated, it sounded eclectic, it sounded strange yet fresh, and it sounds out of this century. One wish however, could there be at least a catchy tune one could remember when leaving the auditorium. Perhaps less is more.
This theatre production attempts at an exploration of what it means to be free, to resist changes, to feel isolated, to grieve the past lives and to stand in solidarity in the face of the future. A story of many migrants landing on foreign lands. Searching for and creating a place to call home. Yet the five characters are stuck on the ship. They do not seem to be going anywhere. Is the pirate ship itself the place destined to be their home? ‘Asian Pirate Musical’ has finally started its theatrical runs after many many years of research and development. It is exciting what lays ahead in the future for this ambitious project, when hopefully many unresolved questions can be answered.
ASIAN PIRATE MUSICAL
Upstairs at the Gatehouse Theatre
28 July – 2 August 2026
Book, Music, and Lyrics by
Zhui Ning Chang (they/them), Frey Kwa Hawking (he/him),
Jade Leamcharaskul (she/her), Sarita Lewis (she/her),
Nemo Martin (they/them) and XANA (name as pronoun)
CAST
Zheng He (he/him) Yñaqui Tuason-Inocian (he/they)
Sek Yeong (she/her) Amanda Maud (she/her)
Nazar (name as pronoun) Ashley Goh (they/them)
Keliling (ze/hir) Rai Endah (they/them, ze/hir)
Riang (they/them) Nabilah Hamid (she/her)
CREATIVE TEAM
Producers Florian Lim, Nemo Martin (they/them)
Director Zhui Ning Chang (they/them)
Lead Composer Jade Leamcharaskul (she/her)
Co-Musical Directors Amy Hsu and Nunt Ruddit (she/her)
Choreographer Wenning Wang (she/her)
Dramaturg Frey Kwa Hawking (he/him)
Production Stage Manager Ghost Chan (he/him)
Sound Designer and Mixer Vincci Chung (any pronouns)
Lighting Designer John Chan 元樟 (he/him)
Set and Costume Designer Scamp Niemz (they/them)
Costume Supervisor & Prop Maker Geremi So (he/they)
Prop Designer Mikayla Teodoro (she/her)
Prop Maker Naomi (Ruizhi) Zhang (she/her)
Projection Visuals Jeffrey Choy (he/him)
Production Intern Cas Potterton (he/him)
Graphic Designer Syahirah Afifah (she/her)
Photography: Mike Skelton
