If only bad Sonia would try her hand at writing

Sonia Yee uses stylised movement, poetry, song and skit-like humour to create lovely moments and likeable characters.

A new genre of theatre seems to be developing in New Zealand. It started with Krishnan's Dairy and has grown to include The Pickle King, From India with Love and The Wholly Grain.

They are feel-good, slice-of-life shows that tell the stories of hardworking immigrants who come to New Zealand for a better life. These plays also share the same formula for success: a sprinkle of sorrow, liberal helpings of humour, a seasoning of cultural myth and legend, topped with a big happy ending and the neat resolution of any loose ends.

In The Wholly Grain it is the Chinese New Zealand experience that is explored through the eyes of Jocelyn. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, she works in the family takeaway and tries to find ways to escape her family's expectations.

Her dad wants her to be an accountant and her grandma wants her to get married but Jocelyn wants to be an artist. They want her to work hard and be good but she wants to get pissed and go to bands like other girls her age.

Sonia Yee is an engaging performer and, in this extended monologue, she uses stylised movement, poetry, song and skit-like humour to create lovely moments and likeable characters. Most enjoyable of all is Jocelyn's feisty grandmother who says even though she is 100 years old she still gets asked for ID when she goes dancing at the disco.

While The Wholly Grain is a little too sweet for my sour tastes, I don't want to sound like I'm knocking it because I think multi-cultural Auckland needs more stories from all its people.

I just want something with a bit more bite. Sonia touches on what it is like to be judged by her Chinese face but I wanted to understand more about what it is like to walk in her shoes.

What is it like to be a Chinese New Zealand woman? Do people automatically think you know martial arts? Do they make fun of your driving? Do they treat you like a submissive little lotus flower or a kinky sex fantasy?

In interviews, Sonia talks about peers spitting at her and telling her to go home but these visceral experiences are missing from the play.

Also, early on in the show there is a touching scene when a young Jocelyn tries and fails to get her father's attention and his approval. But then the father figure is absent from the rest of the play and there is no further father-daughter conflict.

Conflict is the bedrock of theatre and it feels as if Sonia would have a bigger story to tell if she explored some edgier themes.

On the programme, Sonia dedicates The Wholly Grain to her Grandma Yee Wing who should feel justifiably proud of her granddaughter and honoured by the dedication.

But if Grandma Yee Wing is anything like the feisty nana of The Wholly Grain, she would probably encourage Sonia to write more plays. Maybe she would even encourage bad Sonia to have a turn.

What: The Wholly Grain
Where and when: The Herald Theatre until Saturday