Miss Peony, by Michelle Law, and how it came to include English, Cantonese and Mandarin, ahead of its run at Canberra Theatre

The only thing was, she didn't understand any of what was being said because she couldn't speak English.

"That was really hard for me," Law says.

"And it was something that has been at the forefront of my mind since.

"It was amazing seeing people who'd never been to theatre come to the show, especially people from Asian diasporas, but then also people like my grandmother, who came, but she couldn't understand any of it."

That's why her latest production, Miss Peony not only sees its characters speak in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, but it also has surtitles in all three languages as well - something that is standard practice in opera, but rarely features in plays.

As well as catering to people who speak different languages - particularly when the production's content speaks directly to their own experiences - it also means people who are hard of hearing, don't have to rely on an Auslan-interpreted performance to go to the theatre.

Still, it's a bittersweet moment for Law, whose grandmother died in 2020 and didn't live long enough to see Miss Peony.

"Even though she didn't get to see it, at least I've had people reach out saying that they've brought their grandparents or family members who can't speak English and it was the first time that they go to a play or the first time they were able to share a play together," she says.

"It's been a really cathartic experience for people which has been special. And I think it's going to find a nice home in Canberra as well, because it's such a hub of an exchange of ideas, and it's an international place."

MUST READS:

A comedy about beauty pageants, unrealistic expectations and the business of family, Miss Peony explores what it means to be a second-generation immigrant in Australia.

It follows Lily (played by Law), whose grandmother was a beauty queen in Hong Kong. Despite the fact Lily lives in a different country and different century, her grandmother really wants Lily to follow in her footsteps, pushing her to enter the highly competitive Miss Peony beauty pageant.

To make matters worse, Lily's grandmother is also a ghost.

"I think pageants are inherently quite a theatrical setting. And they're also just also very insular worlds that I wanted audiences to gain some insight into," Law says.

"I've always found them fascinating because there's just like, a very strict set of rules for what constitutes quality or beauty or what have you, whatever the criteria might be. So I thought that'd be fascinating to unpick."

And the first step to unpicking that? Sending in a mole. Or at least, someone who was involved in Chinese-style beauty pageants in Australia.

While Law had been in shopping centre beauty pageants when she was younger, when it came time to research Miss Peony, she found that at 28, she was too old to enter herself. So she sent some siblings of friends in to report back.

"I was able to learn from them what exactly happens day to day in the pageant world," Law says.

"What are the women like? What's your schedule like? What are you eating? What are you wearing? What events do you have to attend? So it was just really great research that infused the world with as much realness as possible.

"The fact that they all had to live together in the same hotel, that they have to attend all different sorts of events that would progress them in the competition like charity events or media events."

Miss Peony is at Canberra Theatre from August 23 to 26. For tickets go to canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: