REVIEW: MUST I CRY at Pleasance Theatre until 2 August 2025
‘Bonni Chan portrays a rare gem of a fragile sensitive soul’ ★★★★
A great storytelling piece of theatre presented with a minimalist set design, a digital video projection of an island on a fabric canvas, a screen generating Chinese text subtitles, the stage dotted with miniature mountains, a miniature green building, a white rhinoceros, a luggage and a mustard coloured coat. It begins with the arrival of a plane.
‘Must I cry’ recounts the journey of a daughter in a search for a moment in time. She picks up along the way several fragments of memories of a past life back on the island which her late father told her one day resembles the shell of a turtle. And just like fleeting memories, scenes of her childhood appeared on stage, like the ebb of a wave crashing on the shore of that island, flowing back and forth in a poetic dream-like state.
‘Must I cry’ is almost an invitation to the audience to look within themselves to find or to rediscover that which may have been lost in adulthood. As the saying goes, many go to the theatre to see themselves reflected in the characters and stories, and to process emotions on a personal level. This one woman show delivered with a kind soft spoken voice evokes that state of innocence, tenderness and carefree moments of childhood, and even the foreign accent of the director-devisor-performer Bonni Chan appeared so fitting in creating an outwardly meditative experience.
Bonni Chan portrays a rare gem of a fragile sensitive soul coping with loss and the tragedy is not that when she returns to her homeland, she finds the city landscape is ever changing, but it is that she is struggling with retaining memories of her late father.
One of the highlights was the musical soundtrack ranging from the opening scene’s raw primitive sounds of drumbeats to electronic instrumental tracks. The audience was also delighted with live music. In the left corner of the stage sat musician composer Lau Chi-bun playing beautiful tunes from his accordion and music box tunes from another instrument as the miniature green building rotated eerily on stage.
Produced by Theatre du Pif, a Hong Kong based theatre company formed in 1992 in Scotland by Bonni Chan and Sean Curran, ‘Must I cry’ made its UK debut in 2024 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and is now on an European tour having been to France, currently in London until 2 August and next to Ireland.
Photography: Cheung Chi Wai
Devised, directed and performed by Bonni Chan
Pleasance Theatre, Main House, 31st July – 2 August
Box Office: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/must-i-cry
Avignon, France 19 – 26 July | Cork, Ireland 6 – 9 September
Review by Melanie Lam
