As Asia TOPA continues to light up Melbourne in celebration of the artists & cultures in the Asia-Pacific region, we are thrilled to be part of this fantastic festival once again.
For Asia TOPA 2020, MTC presents Benjamin Law’s debut play, Torch the Place, which is currently playing to sold-out houses with an extra performance added due to audience demand.
Featuring Law’s signature charm, wit and tenderness, the show’s loveable characters and moving exploration of a family dealing with their mother’s hoarding – brought to life by Max Brown, Fiona Choi, Michelle Lim Davidson, Diana Lin and Charles Wu – has resonated with audience members around Melbourne.
Members of the Torch the Place team also took part in the Asia TOPA Takeover series at MPavilion discussing representation of Asian-Australian characters on stage.
The success of Torch the Place comes after the inaugural Asia TOPA in 2017, as part of which MTC curated a season of play readings from nine writers, including Hungry Ghosts by Jean Tong, Entomology by Natesha Somasundaram, and Mirror’s Edge by Kim Ho.
After this series of play development and readings, Jean Tong’s Hungry Ghosts went on to be programmed in MTC’s 2018 Season and toured around Victoria and to Launceston College in Tasmania.
Kim Ho’s Mirror’s Edge went on to have a season at the Union House Theatre and won the Patrick White Playwrights’ Award, while Natehsa Somasundaram became of one of our first NEXT STAGE Writers-in-Residence.
Asia TOPA continues throughout March, with lots of exciting programming to explore. See the full program here.
Published on 3 March 2020
