No such thing as bad publicity: White Pearl takes on cancel culture

Posted on 13 April, 2022

The saying goes that there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

But there are plenty of people who have well and truly felt the wrath of virtual public scrutiny over the past few years who would probably agree that, in fact, no publicity at all is likely a far preferable state of being.

This adage is put to the test in fast-paced comedy White Pearl which is coming to Canberra Theatre Centre on 27-30 April.

The show documents the fallout at a Singaporean-based cosmetics start-up after a racist ad for the company’s skin-whitening cream ‘White Pearl’ goes viral. As the views climb, the mood in the office nosedives and the team scrambles to contain the fallout and save more than just their jobs in the process.

Photography: Phil Erbacher.

The show is the work of Anchuli Felicia King, a playwright who grew up between Thailand and Australia. While the show explores the complexity of Pan-Asian relations and racism, at its core, it looks at the toxic nature of humanity when we’re in a crisis situation. King may have written it six years ago, but the show feels more timely than ever.

“Even though it was written back in 2016, it’s kind of harrowing to think that the themes of the play have become even more relevant actually,” says the show’s director, Priscilla Jackman.

“Felicia was inspired by the ads she saw prevalent all across Asia, that were just part of every day. And in its infancy, it was a response to that. But it’s also an interrogation of technology and, in many ways, how that can bring us together, but also with a lack of nuance, how the space can also tear us apart.”

Photography: Phil Erbacher.

The show’s cast is made up of six young, Asian women representing a mix of Asian nationalities, plus the “token white male” in the form of a manipulative French ex-boyfriend. The story plays out in front of a backdrop audiovisual stream of YouTube and Facebook comments, taken from real life social media feeds, which was created by King for the show’s premiere at the National Theatre of Parramatta in 2019.

“We were under such tight budget restrictions that Felicia, bless her, agreed to come on board and do the AV work herself,” laughs Jackman.

Since then, plenty has happened, both in the world, and for King.

The show played to acclaim in both London and Washington DC. When it returned to Australia in 2021, the show’s tour to Queensland Theatre was cut short and the Sydney premiere season cancelled due to the Delta outbreak.

But for King, her career has gone from strength to strength. She was Sydney Theatre Company’s 2019 Patrick White Fellow. Her plays have also been produced by the Royal Court Theatre in London, Studio Theatre in Washington D.C., the American Shakespeare Center and Melbourne Theatre Company. And she’s made the move from stage to screen, and has worked in the writing room for shows for HBO, Foxtel and Amazon.

Photography: Phil Erbacher.

When Jackman first read White Pearl herself, she was instantly taken with the rhythmic language, and found herself compelled to keep turning as the story unravelled on the pages.

“I had never read a play like it—the razor sharp idiomatic specificity, the six striking and distinctive female voices, the sophistication and slickness of her spellbinding tempo rhythms and the depth of her subversive comedy, that seems to entice and decimate simultaneously,” Jackman said.

“White Pearl is a fierce text, about the leaking of a racist ad that goes viral. But more importantly, for us, it is a play about power and language. White Pearl interrogates the irrefutable complexities of PC culture, challenging the privileges of language and identity while offering profound provocations into our human inter-relationships.”

Photography: Phil Erbacher.

When the play finally makes its way to Canberra later this month, audiences are in for a fast-paced, biting comedy that Jackman says will make people laugh, think, and even gasp out loud sometimes, asking “did they really just say that”?

If you’re needing a particularly strong reason to leave the embrace of the couch and get back out to the theatre, this show is probably the one to go see.

“I imagine Canberra audiences won’t have seen anything quite like this. It’s slick, it’s sharp, it’s sophisticated, it’s confronting, it really doesn’t pull any punches. So it’s a hell of a ride for audiences,” says Jackman.

Feature image: Rene Vaile