STEPHANIE BROWN draws attention to the hidden labour of the female embroiderers, and how a 19th century replica made no such error
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Summer Rolls, Park Theatre, London
Affecting drama on the culture clash within a Vietnamese immigrant family
Summer Rolls
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ADVERTISING itself as the first British-Vietnamese play to be staged in this country, Tuyen Do’s script is a tightly structured, engaging and effective account of the challenges facing first and second-generation Vietnamese immigrants here.
The real drama, though, is not the racism they face but the tensions between generations. The older generation bears the concealed scars of the Vietnam war and clings to their cultural values, while the young try to deal with traditional parental expectations in a very different world.
Set in an oriental-style house dominated by two sewing machines, initially their only source of income, the family struggles to maintain a Vietnamese identity in an environment beset by financial hardships and social challenges.
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