Sydney Theatre Company is known for its daring productions that push the boundaries of form and style. Golden Blood | 黄金血液 is the latest production in their season, and it embodies all of these characteristics. The play is fairly recent, having premiered as part of the 2022 Griffin Theatre Company season. Written and starring Merlynn Tong (alongside Charles Wu), the play is deceptively simple, telling a concise story of love and deceit, but underneath, themes of corruption and betrayal permeate through the play, creating a cohesive and exciting work. 

The semi-autobiographical story centres around a Girl (Tong) and a Boy (Wu), who are brother and sister. After their mum dies, the Girl is adopted by the Boy, who teaches her who to survive in his gangster-filled world. His parang (knife) becomes a symbol for their relationship, being used as a tool of survival for the Boy and of beauty for the Girl. As the story progresses, the relationship between the two becomes increasingly fraught as they go into business together, start using drugs and after the Girl turns down an opportunity to go to study in Australia after the Boy asks her to remain for his own nefarious reasons. The plot shifts drastically a few times towards the end of the play, which changes the complexion of the play quite markedly.

The play is well-constructed, spanning a tight 90 minutes in length. It feels a little uneven towards the middle of the play and the end feels slightly underdeveloped but the short, sharp nature of the scenes combined with the relatively short runtime means that some of the tonal inconsistencies can be overlooked. The play uses humour to address serious issues such as alcoholism, organised crime and loss and this is probably the strongest point of the production. The humour is biting and incisive, leaving much of the audience in stitches. It is not slapstick humour but rather it is used sparingly to highlight the issues that the two characters face. 

The writing is generally strong, however, at times, the play can feel too singular in its focus. Additionally, some of the dialogue could be constructed a little better as ground does tend to get repeated in a superficial way at times. However, overall, the exploration of the themes and discussion that this exploration provokes is well done. 

Michael Hankin’s set is sparse but incredibly effective in evoking the landscape of Singapore that Director Tessa Leong seeks to portray. Equally, Fausto Brusamolino’s is fantastic, being brash and confronting for the audience but doing a good job of highlighting the sensory overload that the Girl is facing.

But what makes this play remarkable is the quality of the acting. Tong and Wu play off each other brilliantly, with Wu in particular sharply imposing his presence and bringing everything out of his lines. They take a play with the bones of something fantastic and turn it into a compelling watch. 

Finally, credit must go to Sydney Theatre Company for their continued support of diverse performers on their stages. This production is yet another example of the talent within Australia, and a reminder of the continued need to support all Australians on and behind the stage. 

Overall, this is a strong play which is lifted up by the quality of its two performers. It is a fantastic showcase of Asian-Australian talent and inspires a deeply thought-provoking reaction. While the pacing isn’t perfect, this is an exciting and amusing watch, with a very serious subtext and for that, this play is definitely worth a watch by a wide range of audiences. 

Rating: ★★★★

Golden Blood | 黄金血液 plays at the Wharf 1 Theatre until 13th October. For more information, click here.

All photo credits: Prudence Upton