INFO
| Name | Proudly Asian Theatre |
| Established | 2013 |
| Artform | Theatre |
| Decades Active | 2010s, 2020s |
ABOUT
Based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Proudly Asian Theatre (PAT) is a theatre company that produces contemporary works by Asian practitioners.
After graduating from drama school in 2013 and noticing a lack of space for Asian theatre-makers in Aotearoa, actors Chye-Ling Huang and James Roque founded Pretty Asian Theatre (PAT). The company started off by staging a production of David Henry Hwang’s FOB (2013) and Renee Liang’s Lantern (2014), before presenting their first original production, Huang’s Call of the Sparrows (2016). After this, they renamed themselves Proudly Asian Theatre, moving away from the “shaky sense of diaspora Asian identity” and embracing a more staunch and grounded position. PAT now has two main focuses: producing original works of theatre and conducting programmes to upskill and uplift Asian artists.
The company strives to develop and present works that “challenge, re-invent and entertain” and are “heart-fuelled and stereotype-shattering”. Orientation (2018) explores East Asian sexuality and how race factors into romance in Aotearoa, receiving the Hackman Cup for Most Original Production the year it was presented. Pinay (2019) — the first play in Aotearoa to be performed in Tagalog and English — connects the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, delving into the “nuanced specificity of Filipino culture”, while Pork and Poll Taxes (2021) — a collaboration between PAT and Hand Pulled Collective — is “a moving tribute to those affected by the Poll Tax”.
By creating programmes specifically for up-and-coming Asian theatre-makers, PAT brings new talent to the forefront. Fresh off The Page, launched in 2017, is a series of monthly play-readings of new work by Asian playwrights in Aotearoa, in which writers are dramaturgically supported to develop their first drafts, while Fresh Developments supports writers to develop their work further for the stage. This programme has led to some significant Asian works emerging in the 2020s, including Marianne Infante’s Pinay, Ankita Singh’s Basmati Bitch, Nathan Joe’s Scenes from a Yellow Peril, Nahyeon Lee’s The First Primetime Asian Sitcom and Nuanzhi Zheng’s Chick Habit.
While their programmes were initially offered only in Tāmaki Makaurau, in recent years PAT has made a conscious effort to partner with companies in Pōneke and Ōtautahi to extend their kaupapa. In 2022, Fresh off the Page presented seasons in all three cities. As of January 2024, there have been a total of 53 Fresh off the Page play-reading events: 41 in Tāmaki Makaurau and 7 in each of Pōneke and Ōtautahi.
In 2023, recognising the need for producers in Aotearoa, PAT collaborated with Black Creatives Aotearoa and Alif Theatre to create a Producers In Training programme to train nine Asian, Black and Middle Eastern producers across Tāmaki Makaurau, Pōneke and Ōtautahi.
PAT has five part-time members in their team, along with two affiliate producers. Huang and Roque have stayed on in their founder capacities, with Huang also acting as Company Artistic Director. Marianne Infante has been the Executive Creative Producer since 2020 after first becoming involved in 2017 as a producer mentee for Fresh off the Page.
LINKS
Key works / presentations
Productions:
2023 — How to Throw a Chinese Funeral
2023 — Not Woman Enough
2021 — Pork and Poll Taxes
2020 — Deep
2019 — Pinay
2019 — Tide Waits for No Man: Episode GRACE
2018 — Orientation
2018 — Roots
2016 — Call of the Sparrows
2014 — Lantern
2013 — FOB
Screen:
2020 — Three Dots
2020 — The Han Chronicles
2017 — Asian Men Talk About Sex
Key works supported through Fresh off the Page:
Pinay — Marianne Infante. Read in FOTP 2018 and staged in Basement Theatre in 2019 (dir. James Roque, produced by Proudly Asian Theatre)
The Kamasutra Chronicles — Shriya Bhagwat. Read in FOTP 2019 and staged at Basement Theatre in 2022 (dir. Shriya Bhagwat, produced by Patralekhika Productions)
Scenes from a Yellow Peril by Nathan Joe. Read in FOTP 2018 and staged at ASB Waterfront Theatre in 2022 (dir. Jane Yonge, produced by Auckland Theatre Company, SquareSums&Co, and Oriental Maidens)
The First Primetime Asian Sitcom — Nahyeon Lee. Read in FOTP 2020 and staged at Q Theatre in 2022 (dir. Ahi Karunaharan, produced by Silo Theatre)
Basmati Bitch — Anita Singh. Read in FOTP 2019 and staged at Q Theatre in 2023 (dir. Ahi Karunaharan, produced by Auckland Theatre Company and SquareSums&Co in association with Oriental Maidens)
Not Woman Enough — Hweiling Ow. Read in FOTP 2019 and staged at Basement Theatre in 2023 (dir. Sananda Chaterjee, produced by Proudly Asian Theatre)
Losing Face — Nathan Joe. Read in FOTP 2017 and staged at Q Theatre in 2023 (dir. Samuel Philips, produced by Punctum Productions and Q Theatre as part of Q Theatre’s MATCHBOX 2023 Season)
How To Throw A Chinese Funeral — Jill Kwan. Read in FOTP 2020 and staged at Basement Theatre in 2023 (dir. Jill Kwan, co-produced by Proudly Asian Theatre & Hand Pulled Collective)
Chick Habit — Nuanzhi Zheng. Read in FOTP 2022 and staged at Basement Theatre in 2023 (dir. Nahyeon Lee, produced by Punctum Productions)
Key awards
2018 — Auckland Fringe Awards: Best Design (Roots)
2018 — Auckland Theatre Awards: Hackman Cup for Most Original Production (Orientation)
2017 — Asian Ink (Orientation)
2014 — Short+Sweet: Best Independent Theatre Company (Call of the Sparrows)
2014 — Short+Sweet: Best Director (James Roque for Call of the Sparrows)
2014 — Short+Sweet: Best Actress (Amanda Grace Leo for Call of the Sparrows)
2014 — Short+Sweet: Wallace Arts Trust Emerging Artist Award (Theatre) (Call of the Sparrows)
