Actor-playwright Merlynn Tong has said that staging Golden Blood 黄金血液 at Fairfax Studio as part of Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2024 program “feels like a homecoming”.
That’s because this play was first developed at MTC through the Cybec Electric Play Reading Series and Next Stage Writers’ Program, before being staged by Sydney’s Griffin Theatre Company in 2022 and then Sydney Theatre Company earlier this year. The ace cast – Girl (Tong, who both wrote and stars in Golden Blood 黄金血液) and Boy (Charles Wu) – has remained consistent for all three productions of this two-hander to date.
Tong and Wu artfully portray the complicated sibling dynamic at the heart of Golden Blood 黄金血液. Over the course of this play’s 90 minutes, their characters age seven years.
Explore Melbourne’s latest arts and stage news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
During the play’s opening scene, Girl and Boy are reunited – aged 14 and 21 respectively – following the death by suicide of their alcoholic mother. Although these siblings are estranged – he left the family home years ago – Boy immediately insists Girl should appoint him as preferred legal guardian. We’re distrustful of his motivations, but also hope for the best.
Golden Blood 黄金血液 is a family drama about two orphaned siblings that’s inspired by events from Tong’s own life growing up in Singapore. Girl dreams of becoming a vet and moving to Australia (karaoke song of choice: Men At Work’s Down Under) and her rose-coloured perception of ‘the lucky country’ – she’s totally unaware of Australia’s brutal colonial past – serves some uncomfortable comedic moments. Boy, a gangsta and self-proclaimed “King Of Ket” (as in ketamine), wants to get rich quick. As the play progresses, Girl and Boy’s conflicting childhood memories surface and lies are exposed.
Rainbow Chan’s sound design transports us to seedy nightclubs where Girl raves, silhouetted against the backdrop’s illuminated panels. Fausto Brusamolino’s bold lighting design utilises a precise strip of light, which cuts through the otherwise dark stage to illuminate Girl’s eyes only. Here, she represents their mother’s ghost, to haunt and taunt Boy. Is he defying his mother’s dying wishes?
When the siblings eventually burn Monopoly money (they’re skint) to take care of their deceased mother’s material needs in the afterlife, these notes disappear before our eyes in an impressive vanishing magic trick.
Thematically, Golden Blood 黄金血液 is pretty heavy, but also leans into comedy on the reg. We just know things won’t end well for these ill-fated characters, which diminishes our engagement level somewhat. But Tong and Wu are utterly captivating throughout, and their outstanding performances are worth the ticket price alone.
Golden Blood 黄金血液 runs at Fairfax Theatre until 30 November.
