Golden Blood (Melbourne Theatre Company)
Left to fend for themselves, a teenage girl is taken under the wing of her older brother. Trouble is, his gangster swagger is the real deal, and thug life doesn’t come with a parenting manual.
Golden Blood takes us beneath the skyscrapers and shopping malls of Singapore into the seedy realm of violence, drugs and chaos that forms its underbelly. The aspirational world above finds its mirror below, as the orphaned siblings at this story’s core envision a future glittering with Chanel and Miu Miu bling. At the same time they’re reckoning with the ghosts of their own past and the half-remembered rituals they’ve inherited.
The Griffin Theatre Company premiere of this production was a Sydney sensation that signalled a major new talent. Merlynn Tong both wrote and stars in this intense two-hander, alongside the charismatic Charles Wu (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Torch The Place).
Unfolding with all the urgency and pace of a rollercoaster in a lightning storm, Golden Blood will set your pulse racing all the way to its inevitable, unstoppable and ultimately heart-rending climax.
A Griffin Theatre Company Production.
Feedback/Comments
Refreshing theatre
Amazing theatre again from mtc. Thank you and thoroughly enjoyed the play
Different perspective
Funny
This was an excellent production, fabulous acting and fascinating story-telling, and such interesting cultural insights. Bravo!
Fantastic, spellbinding at times & Appealing and eye-opening to anyone whether they have spent time in Singapore or not, but certainly many fun moments for the former amongst the tensely paced & revealing dialogue.
A star turn for Merlynn Tong.
Great show
The writing twists & twists, and twists again. I felt for and loved them all. Exquisite performances, simpe & evocative set...and the burning of the money... what was that magic?
Amazing 2-hander with no interval, staging was quite simple but performances were outstanding
A great production. Good storyline with good actors
A fairly bleak tale.
Good storyline and the male lead was great.
Great show, relevant social issues, great cast
Another outstanding production by MTC. Actors were brilliant!
Interesting and good script
Interesting storyline. Actors did a great job keeping it moving with the extensive dialogue.
Amazing depictions of culture and perspectives.
A great insight into a side of life in Singapore. Good script and acting.
A great performed play
Brilliantly written sharp hilarious and sad all at once
The acting and storytelling were solid, making it an enjoyable experience overall.
A good performance
a great way to learn a little about the Chinese culture
Bravo Merlynn Tong! Great storytelling and loved the simplicity of the set and use of lighting.
Interesting story.
Great thought provoking play - two clever talented young actors
Nice chemistry between the actors. Slick progression through the years. Plenty of humour. Very entertaining.
Brilliant. Unconventional.
Very enjoyable theatre production
Nice to support young actors but the theme seemed a little obscure
Thought provoking and well executed play. The actors were great and I thoroughly enjoyed
Amazing performance. Highly recommend it.
Great, humour top notch
Great way to get an insight on Chinese culture
We really enjoyed this comedic and surprising, insight into part of Singapore's culture.
Great script, fresh voice and perspective.
Great performance from both actors. Realistic and sad and at times funny.
Really interesting set design and loved the dialogue and story.
Authentic story with captivating performances. Great to see a two hand play take the audience on such a journey. The grim tale was surprisingly funny - the play in parts was hilarious.
The inter generational trauma was the most interesting aspect of this play & deserved a deeper exploration.
Loved this and the venue was great too
A very quirky and lively performance touching many aspects of Asian culture. A few unexpected revelations along the way keep the story line moving along nicely.
Strong performances by the 2 leads. Very basic set , but the acting stole the show. Amazing talents. And a sad story really
It is an amazing show, I highly recommend this play full of energy.
Realistic performances. Powerful production
Fabulous roller coaster of a show, really related and connected to the content, would recommend others to watch
The two actors did an excellent job - lots of dialogue and a range of emotions. The plot was a little thin but certainly gave my partner and I a lot to discuss.
Great performances but strange story that lacked coherence and believability.
It is great to see 2 actors only
Different.
Moving story brilliantly performed by two extremely talented energetic actors. Simple set added to the intensity of the story.
2 fantastic actors
So authentic, unique and fresh! Great production, loved every minute of it!
Important theatre. It’s time that we see more diverse stories in mainstream productions. Strong performances by both actors.
Builds tension really well. An interesting, and at times heartbreaking, glimpse into another side of Singapore.
Golden Blood was a breath of fresh air: a vibrant, energetic play from a youthful East Asian perspective. The audience was also more diverse than usual as it wasn't the usual Anglo Celtic middle class offering.
Brilliant production and always great to see newer works and more diverse stories on stage. Difficult themes injected with humour and humanity, Merlynn’s play hit like a tonne of bricks by the finale.
Enjoyable piece of theatre
Both actors we’re great and engaging
Loved this production. Very raw. Rollercoaster of emotions. Excellent use of lighting and dialogue to create scenes with very limited props.
Compelling story, brilliantly performed and stage set was fabulous. Simplistic in its presentation, yet the depth of the siblings relationship was fraught with complexities and generational traumas that continually builds until its final release. It was powerful and touching with all the dreams destroyed and hopes squandered as it wove and teased through their lives. Really enjoyable theatre
Great performance, high energy and interesting cultural reflection.