5 Questions with Michelle Law
by Tamara Montina
Michelle Law is an award-winning writer and actor working in print, film, television and theatre. Her works include the book Asian Girls are Going Places, the plays Single Asian Female and Top Coat, and the SBS web series Homecoming Queens. Her next play, Miss Peony, will be staged at Belvoir St Theatre in 2023.
NO.1
Single Asian Female follows a powerful assembly of 3 Asian women and a refreshing representation of Chinese-Australian domesticity unprecedented in Australian media. What was the catalyst for writing Asian-centred stories for you? Do you remember the first piece you wrote that touched on exploring one’s identity, and how has that informed your process when writing this play?
The first piece I can remember writing about identity and being Asian in Australia was for an anthology called, ‘Growing Up Asian in Australia’. That was edited by an author, and now friend of mine, Alice Pung. She’s a writer based in Melbourne, and that was back in 2008 when it came out. I was still in my final year of high school, and I remember seeing a cool ad for this anthology and thinking, I don’t know if I want to write about my cultural identity, I don’t see how there’s an audience for it, or if it would be interesting to other people. And then, I just thought I’d put something together, because, you know if you don’t, you’re always sort of wondering. So I put something together and sent it off, I didn’t hear anything back for a long time, but then, Alice got back to me with a really lovely personal email just saying, ‘we’d love to publish it!’ And that was really incredible because I’d never received feedback from a professional writer before, and had never written about cultural identity before. When the anthology came out, I thought this was so groundbreaking, as you know, I grew up in a quiet, mono-cultural regional town that was mostly white. To see people of different ages and backgrounds in Australia made me feel a lot more connected and less alone. So, I think when it comes to my own work, that’s always been the centre point for me.
NO.2
In your writer’s note for the State Theatre program, you speak on Single Asian Female’s unanticipated longevity, and how the work transcends you as it now ‘belongs to audiences’, as well. Could you elaborate on this further? When did you realise that this production now belongs to audiences, as well as yourself?
Definitely during the first ever season of it, when it was on in Brisbane at La Boite Theatre. I very much had the idea that I was only ever going to write one play and that’s not because I wasn’t ambitious. It was more, like, I don’t know if there will be an audience for these sorts of stories, and, you know, it’s great that I’m getting a shot at it, but that’s probably all I get to do. I think it sort of hit me when I was seeing audiences, a lot of them Asian-Australians who’d never even been to a theatre show before. They were coming from the outer suburbs and bringing their family members along, and I was just like, okay, so this is something, and then, when people were lining up, outside the doors of the theatre to get in, I thought that this could be something big!
NO.3
It has been said that publishers treat the ‘ethnic story’ as a ‘single story’ (or as an ‘immigrant story’) to preserve harmful stereotypes about minorities and to be more palatable for white audiences. What are the dangers of treating the Asian-Australian story as a ‘single story’, and by extension, how do you ensure to write three-dimensional characters like the women in your play?
I think there’s the danger of people talking about authenticity, and what exactly that means. There are so many different Asian cultures in Australia particularly. The more opportunity we have to tell our stories, the more people realise how disparate those identities are, and how much there’s even a lot of intercultural interplay and tensions, and hierarchies as well. In terms of writing dimensional characters, I would say, definitely women in my life, like friends, family, but also just Asian women that I’ve read about, just their strength and resilience. Through watching documentaries, or news stories, you’re exposed to these untold stories about Asian women who don’t get the treatment as a character of being someone who’s quite autonomous and resilient, and funny, as well. So I think I’ve always been surrounded by those stories and those personalities to inform my work.
NO.4
From Single Asian Female to your 2014 publication of Sh*t Asian Mothers Say (co-authored by esteemed writer and your brother, Benjamin Law), it is apparent that comedy is used as a mechanism to incite conversation surrounding gender and race politics throughout your work. Why does comedy resonate with you when writing?
I think I always come back to comedy quite naturally. Obviously, life isn’t just a black and white drama and vice versa. It’s not sort of a farcical comedy, there’s always elements of light and shade. It doesn’t really matter what genre I’m writing in, there’s always some sort of comedic element. I think comedy is a really useful device for social change and social commentary, because you can get people laughing at quite serious issues and see how ridiculous or unequal things can be by pointing out that these things are silly, but that’s the status quo right now, and that shouldn’t have to be the case because we’re laughing at it as if it’s a joke.
NO.5
As a woman of colour in the arts industry, there are a slew of systemic barriers you are met with, such as the bamboo ceiling you recently discussed with The Australian. As Pearl would affirm to herself in Single Asian Female, ‘I am a strong woman!’ What is your motivational mantra or internal dialogue that enables you to continue creating despite these barriers?
A really good question! I mean, I’m always looking for high pop songs to listen to when you’re not feeling particularly motivated or feeling a bit down to get you back into the mood. Lately, I’ve been listening to ‘Alien Superstar’ by Beyonce! So, that’s been my high pop song for the past month. Also, reading books by other inspirational women. I always come back to an Amy Poehler quote, where she says that successful people don’t wait until they’re ready. You sort of hold back until you’re like, I feel ready, but you’re never going to feel ready, so you may as well just do it!
Inside the Golden Phoenix, a humble Chinese restaurant on the Sunshine Coast, two generations of Wong women stand at a crossroads. Mei is a teenager grappling with her identity and getting ready for her school formal; older sister Zoe is eternally single and having a quarter-life crisis after some seriously terrible dates. At the centre of it all is Pearl, the whip-smart, brutally honest matriarch of the family. But Pearl is harbouring a secret that could change their lives forever.
A smash hit across the country, Michelle Law’s (Homecoming Queens, Rosehaven) riotous family comedy bursts onto the Adelaide stage in this new production starring Juanita Navas-Nguyen (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Eureka Day) under the direction of Nescha Jelk (Euphoria, Jasper Jones). Brilliantly funny and incisive, Single Asian Female is a heartwarming story about love, family and karaoke from one of Australia’s most exciting writers.
Single Asian Female will run from 4 Nov to 19 Nov. More info and tickets here.