Created and Performed by Sean Wai Keung

Review by Marina Funcasta

Summerhall – Former Women’s Locker Room: Tickets

It seems that food as a cultural experience has gained quite a popularity in this Fringe. From Hannah Kahlil’s ‘My English Persian Kitchen’ to Sean Wai Keung’s ‘The History of a Fortune Cookie’, interactive consumption has emerged as a rather useful theatrical vehicle. And sure, it makes sense – a sweet treat never fails to bring a smile to someone’s face, and even if it ultimately requires more investment, it also displays outstanding generosity from the performer. How could you hate someone who offers you a cookie, after all?

Far from ridding the show of any scrutiny, however, there is something to be said about the kindness beaming out of Keung’s play. A homage to his heritage, ‘The History of the Fortune Cookie’ is Sean Wai Keung’s carefully constructed story of his experience as a Chinese/Scottish third-generation immigrant. This mix, described as he diligently mixes the batter, becomes tethered to one another; just like the fortune cookie, Keung ensures the audience understands the ingredients through which he exists, to finally realise both the bitterness and the sweetness which composes his lived experiences. This is where Keung’s show shines, as his story becomes at once specific and relatable; the feeling of being ‘wrong’ or being caught in the middle of several cultures is the story of the modern age, so much so that my mum (a Spanish immigrant). It proves that despite our differences, many experiences are connected in some way; Keung’s play is a testament to national pride and a bid at connection.

Although it may have benefitted from a less abrupt ending, the time pressure that comes with cookie making is not glossed over. Burning his hands in the process, Keung ends his play sweaty, with swollen hands but a gleaming smile. Itself a metaphor, it is tough to remind ourselves of our heritage, but ultimately worth it.

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