REVIEW: KIM’S CONVENIENCE by Ins Choi at Park Theatre until 10 February 2024

‘This heart-warming and heart-breaking delightful play has endured the test of time’ ★★★★★ 

In Canada, the Land of Opportunities, Kim’s Convenience, the debut play of the writer Ins Choi, won the Best New Play award and the Patron’s Pick at the 2011 Toronto Fringe festival. The play toured Canada and was adapted into a TV series of the same name on the CBC and Netflix for 5 seasons. Now over 12 years on, the comedy drama play is gracing the London stages of the Park Theatre’s Park200 located in Finsbury Park. This is the first time the play has been seen by audiences outside of Canada and the US.

Based on the Korea born writer’s own experiences growing up in a family-run convenience store in Canada, the story of Kim’s Convenience is a love letter to his parents and to all first generation immigrants who have travelled to new lands in search of freedom and made it their home. In the play, Mr Kim (Appa) is the proud, hard working patriarch of the family who supports his wife and two children with his Toronto convenience store. One morning, he receives a large offer to sell the store and a nudge to examine his life and his exit strategies. He is conflicted, wrestling with the changing neighbourhood landscape of Toronto’s Regent Park and the growing gap between his first-generation immigrant values and the second-generation ones of his Canadian born children.

The playwright Ins Choi, who played Mr Kim’s son in the original stage play, now stars as Mr Kim and portrays excellently the East Asian character of a patriarch with all the East Asian traits and characteristics. The importance of family values, educational achievements, discipline and hard work and a concern for the collective well-being of the community and society, come at the forefront of what Mr Kim stands for. He is also a devout Christian and will take every opportunity to share his faith to customers, especially the one who he correctly suspects of shoplifting. His ways are disciplinarian, authoritative, and as a warrior at heart, he will fight for his values, his beliefs, his family and his legacy. He does not appear to be able to show his affection through the expression of physical touch. Which is not surprising for many East Asian fathers, and I can personally relate Mr Kim’s characteristics to my own Chinese Mauritian father, whose predominant love language, like Mr Kim’s, is not physical affection but rather tends to be acts of service and gift giving.

There were moments of tenderness and father-daughter cuddles when the 30 year old outspoken daughter Janet, played outstandingly by Jennifer Kim, returns to the convenience store after a tense quarrel with her father, having had a heated argument about her being unmarried and childless, and her wanting to become a photographer instead of running the convenience store. There was also a changed mind-set being reflected in Mr Kim’s acceptance of Janet’s new admirer Alex, played by the versatile talented Miles Mitchell who also multi-roles the character of Rich, Mr Lee, Mike and Alex. Mr Kim being the traditional patriarch, insists on supervising the blooming relationship. The scenes of the Korean self-defence are hilarious yet they reveal to what extent Mr Kim will protect what and who he loves and cares for.

The mother and the son of the family are very well played and acted by Namju Go and Brian Law respectively. The story goes that in the past, Mr Kim had a fight with his son Jung who then ended up being hospitalised. He left home one day and never returned. Umma, the mother is seen to take on the role of the glue of the family, acting as the emotional support system. She does her best to hold the family together by regularly meeting up with the estranged son Jung at the local church. When Jung announces that he has a 2 months old child, Umma reasons with him that it is time for him to visit his ageing father again. The prodigal son returns home to the convenience store. The reconciliation scene between father and son reconnecting over their mutual passion for Korean history is moving.

At its core, Kim’s Convenience tells the narratives of many immigrants who have had to flee their war-torn and/or socio-economical political unstable homelands and search for freedom and opportunities in a foreign land. Their universal story is one of survival and hope. Despite the language barriers and ethnicities and race differences, they fight their way through new experiences, hardships and struggles, sustaining themselves economically, overcoming the hurdles of generational divides while trying to maintain a strong family unit. The conversation exchanges in Korean between Appa and Umma, whilst reinforcing the authentic identity of the play, are only understood by Korean speaking audience members. It crossed my mind then whether the introduction of subtitles on a screen could have been an option? The heart-warming and heart-breaking delightful play has endured the test of time, portraying an accurate picture of family dynamics of a Korean immigrant family and will continue to resonate for so many different cultures and different age groups.



Esther Jun, who was cast as Janet in the original play, has returned as Director of the comedy drama play. Kim’s convenience is about keeping it in the family. That includes not only the characters’ nuclear family but also the extended family being formed through the creation of this staged production. The designer Mona Camille has created an impressive set display of a convenience store, with shelves full of foodstuffs, Asian sauces, snacks, household essentials, newspapers and she has gone into details with boxes of kimchi and nongshim noodles, family photos and soccer team picture on the walls, a Toronto Blue Jays flag, and a 2011 calendar with the month of October in view. With the store entrance bell sound effect by the sound designer Adrienne Quartly, the result was very realistic. When it comes to scene changes, the lighting designer Jonathan Chan successfully transforms the stage from a store to a church with the clever use of lighting. The fight scenes choreographed by the fight director Philip d’Orleans are quite edgy and funny while the costume supervisor Beth Qualter Buncall has managed to create a Canadian setting and mood through clothing choices.

Adam Blanshay Productions and Park Theatre have, with great success put on a production which continues its London run until the 10th February. During the press night event organised by Diana Whitehead for Fourth Wall PR, the drinks and fries topped with cheese and gravy were flowing, and the gifting of goodie bags of Korean snacks have contributed to creating a very special experience.

Reviewed by Melanie Lam

Images by Mark Douet

Presented by Adam Blanshay Productions

KIM’S CONVENIENCE by INS CHOI

PARK THEATRE, FINSBURY PARK

Performances 8th January to 10th February 2024

Box Office https://parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/kims-convenience

CAST

INS CHOI I APPA
NAMJU GO I UMMA
JENNIFER KIM I JANET
BRIAN LAW I JUNG
MILES MITCHELL I RICH/ MR LEE/ MIKE/ ALEX

CREATIVES

WRITER | INS CHOI
DIRECTOR I ESTHER JUN
DESIGNER | MONA CAMILLE
LIGHTING DESIGNER | JONATHAN CHAN
SOUND DESIGNER & COMPOSER I ADRIENNE QUARTLY
FIGHT DIRECTOR | PHILIP D’ORLÉANS
PRODUCTION MANAGER | IAN TAYLOR FOR ESTAGE
ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER | LEWIS CHAMPNEY FOR ESTAGE
PRODUCERS | ADAM BLANSHAY & AMELIA CHERRY
ASSISTANT PRODUCERS | ELLEN HARRIS & GIORGIO SPIEGELFELD
COMPANY STAGE MANAGER I REUBEN BOJANG
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER I JINWEN CHEN
COSTUME SUPERVISOR | BETH QUALTER BUNCALL
PROPS SUPERVISOR | SHUPIN LIU
DIALECT COACH | REBECCA CLARK CAREY
GRAFFITI ARTIST | EMILY MAY ROSE
PR | DIANA WHITEHEAD FOR FOURTH WALL PR
DIALECT COACH | REBECCA CLARK CAREY