SCENES FROM A YELLOW PERIL is Now Playing at ASB Waterfront Theatre

An uncomfortable, playful and enlightening provocation on racism and privilege in Aotearoa.

This is a doom scroll disguised as a play: a world premiere from an arresting new voice. A meta-analysis of Asian identity, carved into razor-sharp scenes that cut to the cultural quick. Scenes from a Yellow Peril is less a play, more a series of insights that, when taken together, expose the pain of the way in which some people are othered but whose experience will not be denied.

From award-winning Chinese-New Zealand writer, actor, poet and general polymath Nathan Joe, the work dissolves the traditional play format into a rapid-fire collection of snapshots and observations, flickering past in a rush of live music and hard-to-hear truths.

A dizzying mix of humour and rage, commentary and confessional, this is a theatre experience that packs a punch.

"Heartbreakingly personal, gloriously queer, furiously political and unexpectedly funny, Nathan Joe's writing is devastatingly acute in its observation of the East-Asian New Zealand experience. I invite you to listen to Nathan; his is a vital voice we need to hear." - Jonathan Bielski

A co-production between Auckland Theatre Company, SquareSums&Co, and Oriental Maidens.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Orchestrations - Top 3

1. Ethan Popp, The Rescues - The Lost Boys

28.7% of votes

2. Lux Pyramid - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

13.7% of votes

3. Anders Eljas, Brian Usifer - Chess

12.8% of votes

Vote Now! View Live Stats