Writer Yuk-Lan Phoebe Chan on From Old Bean Grows Bak Choy
Hong Kong Stories • UK Stages 2025 is the UK’s first theatre series dedicated to Hong Kong. It brings with it a selection of pieces by artists with roots in Hong Kong, and takes place in a number of locations across Britain. Writer, performer and director Yuk-Lan Phoebe Chan will be presenting her own show, From Old Bean Grows Bak Choy, in Sutton this autumn, and we were delighted to chat with her about what to expect.
Hi Phoebe. Thanks very much for talking with us today. Can you firstly tell us about Hong Kong Stories • UK Stages 2025 and your involvement with it?
Thank you for having me! Hong Kong Stories • UK Stages 2025, a theatre series dedicated to amplifying Hong Kong voices in their own right, is a timely and meaningful platform. For artists like me who have recently relocated, it offers not only a chance to continue creating but also to connect with audiences beyond Hong Kong communities. I feel very honoured that my solo performance, From Old Bean Grows Bak Choy, will close the series’ inaugural edition. For me, it’s a chance to weave Hong Kong’s stories into the UK’s cultural fabric and to invite people into a conversation that extends far beyond borders.
What’s the background to the story you tell, and what prompted you to dramatise it?
This show grew from my experience of migrating from Hong Kong through the BN(O) Visa scheme. I left only a few months after my elderly father passed away. While grieving for him, I found myself reflecting on his own migration story – fleeing unrest in China in the 1950s to settle in Hong Kong – and how, decades later, I was leaving my birthplace under similar circumstances, seeking freedom from political oppression.
Placing our journeys side by side led me to deeper questions: How does displacement shape our identities? How do we define home and belonging? How does political turmoil reverberate across generations?
Theatre became the natural way to explore this. It’s my favourite language – one that captures nuance and complexity. Dramatised storytelling allows me to articulate my lived experiences vividly and authentically, while its dialogic nature – a performance existing only in conversation with its audience – creates the possibility of opening my personal story into a shared exploration of resilience, identity and belonging.
From Old Bean Grows Bak Choy is quite an unusual title – what does it reference?
Haha! While ‘Old Bean’ might sound like an old-fashioned phrase no longer in use, it’s actually the literal translation of the Cantonese term ‘lo dau’ (老豆), an affectionate way we address our fathers. And Bak Choy in the play is a symbol of resilience.
The title reflects my thoughts on legacy – how the strength I have today grows from the roots of my heritage, much like the saying ‘from little acorns grow mighty oaks’. For me, ‘Old Bean’ represents a generation of Hong Kong people who worked hard to build and flourish the city. What I inherited wasn’t just parental care, but also the spirit of Hong Kong – hardworking and ready to contribute to making home a better place. That’s the spirit I carry with me, in Hong Kong and now in the UK, my new home.
Can you talk about the form of the show and your storytelling techniques?
I’ve designed the show as a flexible, small-scale touring production so it can reach communities outside traditional theatre spaces. I perform in cafes, libraries, churches, rehearsal rooms – anywhere that can be transformed into a performance space. That intimacy shapes the storytelling: I don’t rely on complex lighting or staging. I turn to metaphor and imagination instead.
Objects play a central role in this play: something as simple as folding a piece of paper becomes symbolic, carrying ideas that transform before the audience’s eyes.
Sound is another important layer. A one-person show can feel monotonous if the auditory experience is flat. So I use different vocal tones – including my father’s heavily accented speech – alongside voiceovers, music and songs. My husband is a songwriter, and his compositions are interwoven with the narrative. They elevate the storytelling, giving voice to emotions and meanings that words alone cannot express.
Where else have you performed this production, and how has it been received in different locations?
Since April, From Old Bean Grows Bak Choy has toured across the UK and has also been performed in Taiwan and Vancouver. Each place has brought unique responses shaped by the audience’s backgrounds.
What’s struck me most is how deeply it resonates with non-Hong Kong audiences. People often say the play makes them feel the human impact of migration in a way news headlines never could. Some connect it to their own family histories, recalling their great-grandparents’ wartime migrations.
Audiences from a Hong Kong background, meanwhile, often connect immediately with the political and emotional layers. In Castleford, a woman approached me after the show and said through tears, “Thank you for sharing OUR stories.” In Taiwan, Hong Kong immigrants watched alongside Taiwanese locals, and the post-show discussion opened up powerful dialogue between the two communities.
Sometimes the responses cross boundaries altogether. In Northampton, a shy 15-year-old Ukrainian boy quietly absorbed the play, listening intensely when I spoke about the pain of seeing our homeland destroyed. Afterwards, he came up to me and asked for a hug. My heart melted – it was a moving reminder of how feelings of loss and upheaval can be quietly shared across very different lives.
The reflections haven’t only been about migration. University students shared how the play spoke to their experiences of moving towns or starting university. Others reflected on intergenerational relationships, life transitions, and finding belonging in new environments. Migration and cultural displacement take many forms, and I’m grateful that the play encourages audiences to reflect on the small but meaningful ways we navigate life’s transitions.
Migration and displacement are such current issues everywhere right now, but is the show aimed at any particular audience?
Audience feedback has shown me that theatre can illuminate the particular while revealing the universal. My story may be rooted in Hong Kong, but it resonates far beyond, inviting empathy and connection across cultures. I think this is timely, when understanding of displacement is so much needed in society.
One audience member put it perfectly: “It’s important to share human stories like these, especially at a time when humanity so often gets lost in grand political narratives.” I couldn’t agree more.
You are also going to be hosting Q&A sessions after each show in Sutton. Can you tell us about that?
Yes – every performance on my tour is followed by a post-show discussion, and Sutton will be no exception. I don’t want audiences just to watch and leave; I want to create a space where we can process, reflect and exchange ideas.
These conversations have often been as profound as the performance itself – ranging from memories of Hong Kong to reflections on identity, resilience and human connection. They turn a monologue into dialogue, and I look forward to continuing that exchange with Sutton audiences.
Many thanks to Phoebe for chatting with us about this fascinating project. From Old Bean Grows Bak Choy plays at Cheam Library on Sunday 12 October at 13:00 and 15:30.
