Title: Love and Relationships Volume 1：A Collection of Contemporary Asian-Canadian Drama

Author: Aquino, Nina Lee (Ed.)

Year: 2009

Geography: Americas > Northern America > Canada

Synopsis: Edited by Nina Lee Aquino, This collection includes the following plays:
a) Yellow Fever by Rick Shiomi follows private detective Sam Shikaze as he investigates the disappearance of the Cherry Blossom Queen, uncovering a web of racism, political intrigue, and seedy characters. This sharp parody of hard-boiled detective stories is a classic in Asian American theater.
b) Bachelor Man by Winston Kam depicts Toronto’s Chinatown on Dominion Day 1929, revealing the struggles of Chinese men barred from family reunification under exclusion laws. The play portrays resilience in a “Bachelor Society” facing discrimination.
c) Maggie’s Last Dance by Marty Chan is a play that may explore themes of family, loss, and memory.
d) Mother Tongue by Betty Quan is a poignant play about a Chinese-Canadian family divided by language—Cantonese, English, and sign language. It explores generational and cultural gaps as Mimi, the daughter, struggles between family loyalty and her dreams to leave Vancouver for graduate school.
e) Noran Bang: The Yellow Room by M.J. Kang follows a Korean-Canadian family coping with loss, cultural assimilation, and generational conflicts, blending Western theatre with Korean traditions. It resonates broadly with immigrant families navigating identity and belonging in Canada.
f)The Plum Tree follows George Murakami, who, after years of activism in the Japanese Canadian Redress movement, seeks a deeper connection to his past at a berry farm. The play explores themes of ownership, justice, and how history’s recurring impact shapes each generation.

Publication: quino, Nina Lee, editor. Love + Relasianships: A Collection of Contemporary Asian-Canadian Drama. Vol. 1, Playwrights Canada Press, 2009.