SCENES FROM A YELLOW PERIL Will Make National Mainstage Debut at QPAC

Queensland Performing Arts Centre will present the Australian mainstage debut of the multi-award-winning play Scenes From a Yellow Peril in QPAC's Cremorne Theatre from 3 to 12 July 2025.

 

Written by award-winning Chinese-New Zealand writer and poet, Nathan Joe, the smash-hit New Zealand work was reconceptualised into an Australian context by Brisbane-based independent production company The Reaction Theory.

 

The Australian premiere of Scenes From a Yellow Peril was presented as part of Queensland Theatre's DOOR 3 initiative last year, winning Best Independent Production and Best Ensemble and nominated for Best Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Lighting Design at the 2024 Matilda Awards.

 

Featuring creatives and cast from a diverse cultural heritage, the poetic and powerful play is performed by emerging Queensland talent and portrays the nuances of the Asian experience in both Australia and New Zealand.

 

Performed as a series of insights rather than a traditional play, Scenes From a Yellow Peril provides an eye-opening look at racism and privilege and exposes the reality of what it means to have an Asian identity in both Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand.

 

Co-Directors and Producers, Chelsea August and Egan Sun-Bin say they knew they had found an outstanding work when they first encountered Scenes From a Yellow Peril.

 

“We fell in love with the play as soon as we saw it and we really wanted to get our hands on it,” they say.

 

“Ahead of our premiere season, we worked with Nathan Joe and engaged in cross-cultural collaboration to make the script more relatable to Australian audiences,” adds Ms August.

 

“We were thrilled with the critical and audience acclaim Scenes From a Yellow Peril received in its first Australian season and couldn't be more excited to present our first mainstage season at QPAC.”

 

Egan Sun-Bin says the play fulfils the relatively new and strong demand for Asian-centred theatre stories in Queensland.

 

“This play also creates the opportunity to reach new audiences, while bolstering the local independent theatre sector.

 

“A ground-breaking theatre work, Scenes From a Yellow Peril is more than a play, it's a strong statement on the Asian experience in a predominantly Western context.

 

“Nathan Joe's poignant writing gives a platform to an underrepresented voice in a dynamic, thought-provoking, sometimes uncomfortable way and invites the audience into a world that challenges stereotype, confronts bias and celebrates the complexity of identity,” he says.

 

In a twist on usual theatrical plays, the actors play themselves not character roles, creating moments of reflection, confessions, and dialogue as well as retelling certain historical events that took place in New Zealand. 

 

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