REVIEW: THE DREAM OF BEING A MADAM at Etcetera Theatre 5- 6 January 2024

‘expectations of society and the contemporary aspirations of the characters, adds cultural significance to the storyline’ ★★★★

The Dream of being a Madam is a two-hander play showcased as part of the Women Writers Festival at The Etcetera Theatre in Camden, London. The audience was invited upstairs to the black box space where on the far left corner was a keyboard player playing live music. Mirko Sangrigoli the musician kept the audience entertained over the next ten minutes as the theatre seats started getting filled up to full capacity. The background music set the atmosphere reminiscent of a ‘Salon de The’ with its dark walls lined up with various pieces of clothing for costume changes. One almost expected to be treated to chatters and chitchats between two women meeting up for some juicy conversations.

Rightly so, when May, a fresh college graduate enters the stage, to be soon met by Lairs, an enigmatic foreign student she was introduced to, possibly by a friend in common. The main reason for the meeting is revealed. Lairs is heartbroken. Again. And she needs May’s advice and friendship to help her get over her emotional torment.

May, excellently played by Joyce Lim, finds herself being the sounding board, taking the role of a counsellor and is reluctantly forced to listen to the many relationship plights of Lairs, sometimes having to occasionally give stern well-meant counsel. Her own vulnerabilities are exposed as she realises and acknowledges that her trying to stay on course to be a responsible hard working UK citizen and pursuing her London dreams go beyond making a better life for herself, but deep inside, it is to avoid becoming like her own mother who has suffered a failed marriage.

Lairs is all chaos and turmoil and driven by her desires and dreams of being in a stable married relationship. Played exceptionally by Li Xu, the 21 year old Lairs navigates the London romantic liaisons scenes, jumping guiltlessly from one man to another. They all seem to share some similarity, that of being twice her age. And very wealthy. To May’s dismay, Lairs one day even drags May alongside her to break into one of her romantic conquest’s presidential hotel suites, as she is suspecting him of cheating on her. On another occasion, Lairs reveals that she has received a payment of £10,000 in her bank account after a breakup. She then confides that she has had an abortion, and that it is customary in her family, her own mother having had several abortions herself.

Qi Wang, the writer and producer of this very good piece of theatre has written a very relevant story that touches on the struggles and aspirations of many women in urban environments, whose choices, values and decisions in life are often marked by their own personal experiences and emotional journeys. The play is meant to contribute to a deeper understanding of the complexities that women face and has managed to cover serious topics with some comical elements. The outlay of traditional expectations of society and the contemporary aspirations of the characters, adds cultural significance to the storyline.  The Dream of being a Madam ended with the character May unexpectedly saying farewell to Lairs. She has realised her needs to set boundaries and opts for her own emotional and mental self-care.

It takes a village to create. The rest of the creative team deserves to be commended. The director Xiaowen Xu and the executive director Cameron Ablimit have both done an outstanding job of directing the team to bring the script to life within a short time frame of two months during the festive seasons. The collaboration of the lighting and sound designer Nicolas P.Gy, the set designer Yigo Jia and the stage manager, and other tech assistants also deserves to be applauded. The passion of the entire creative team for the theatre and great narratives is palpable. This was their first production in London and this team, comprising primarily foreign and non-UK born citizens, is one to watch on the UK theatre scene.

Reviewed by Melanie Lam

THE DREAM OF BEING A MADAM

Writer-producer QI WANG

Venue THE ETCETERA THEATRE, CAMDEN

Performances 5th - 6th January 2024