MR KIM left South Korea in his youth and opened a general store in Toronto, Canada, but he knows that he needs to retire. His son is a disappointment to him, and they haven’t spoken since he disgraced himself some years ago. His wife’s church is facing closure because its congregation is small, and she yearns for the huge churches that she left behind in Asia. His daughter is a cause of anxiety because she has appropriated Western ways and, aged 30, is still “single, ready to mingle”.
In the space of 80 minutes, we become extremely attached to this fractious family in Ins Choi’s play Kim’s Convenience. Mr Kim, played by the writer, is a superb creation. He is peppery, opinionated, and borderline racist. But each outburst makes him increasingly lovable, because we recognise the heart that prompts it. By the end of the play, he has effected repair of numerous relationships by trickery, deploying martial arts or (hilariously) an enforced conversion to Christianity. The spirit of the parable of the prodigal son hangs over the piece, and he is usually referred to as Appa (Korean for Daddy).
The set is a bright, lollipop-coloured convenience store, crammed with recognisable detail from the hanging neon lights to the irritating ding-dong of its opening door (design by Mona Camille, lighting by Jonathan Chan, sound design by Adrienne Quartly). The director, Esther Jun, orchestrates the cast with impeccable timing: a lugubrious start, a sprightly dash through clashing relationships, and a quietly gracious close. Some stretches are retrospectively influenced by the life that this play went on to have as a television sitcom (five series on Netflix), but, when one is buoyed up by the delighted laughter of the audience, that is readily forgiven.
The remainder of the uniformly strong cast (Namju Go, Jennifer Kim, Edward Wu, and Miles Mitchell) are predominantly of Asian heritage and, although the ache of seeking to maintain one’s cultural heritage in an alien setting is never spoken of directly, it bubbles away under each relationship. Mr Kim has already endured enough change for a lifetime. Now he must face the possibility that the gentrification of the neighbourhood will make his store redundant, the growth of sales-pitch Christianity will diminish his church, and the need to retire will undo his life’s work. Nevertheless, there is family, there is unspoken love, and there is forgiveness. I think it’s going to be OK!
It’s very slight, but it’s very charming. It’s very streetwise, but could only have been written by a Christian. It is very funny indeed, and maybe that’s all you need to know.
Kim’s Convenience is at Riverside Studios, 101 Queen Caroline Street, London W6, until 26 October. Box office: phone 020 8237 1010. riversidestudios.co.uk
Read an interview with Ins Choi here