- 112 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Mountains: The Dreams of Lily Kwok
About this book
A family held together with one lifeline ā food. Helen has grown up in the UK, but always felt a piece of her story was missing. Amidst the skyscrapers and bustling streets of Hong Kong, she meets her grandmother, Lily Kwok, and steps into a past of shocking family secrets that will change her life forever. Based on Helen Tse's bestselling novel Sweet Mandarin, this evocative new play by award-winning writer In-Sook Chappell tells the extraordinary story of the women behind the famous Manchester restaurant.
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Mountains: The Dreams of Lily Kwok by In-Sook Chappell in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Asian American Studies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
HONG KONG
1.
The sound of an aeroplane. A shadow passes the stage.
The tone before an announcement.
CAPTAINāS VOICE: Ladies and Gentlemen, weāve just been cleared to land at Hong Kong International Airport and are starting our descent.
FLIGHT ATTENDANTāS VOICE: (in Cantonese.) Ladies and Gentlemen, the Captain has advised that weāve started our descent to Hong Kong International Airport. Please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are securely fastened in the full upright positionā¦ (The voice fades out.)
HELEN walks down a staircase, sheās tired but excited. She wears a simple dress, ballet shoes. People move past her on the staircase, mostly Chinese with one Westerner. HELEN reaches into her bag and takes out her passport. Two lines form: Chinese and foreigners, HELEN hesitates, then takes her place behind the other Westerner.
The sound of a high-speed bullet train.
The two lines are thrown forward at speed and with force.
HELEN is deposited into the mad swirl of Hong Kong.
Music and the cacophony of Hong Kong: snatches of Cantonese, building work, traffic, the distinctive Hong Kong pedestrian signal.
A movement sequence. Hong Kong never stops. Work hard, play hard, constant action. HELEN walks quickly with purpose, searching, she changes direction, moves fast. The crowds close in on HELEN, she hesitates, doesnāt know which direction to turn, feels like she canāt breathe, panics.
HELEN cries out. The crowds disperse leaving her alone onstage. Frantically she scans the faces in the audience, doesnāt recognise anyone.
LILYāS VOICE: How are you?
HELEN stands still, tired, overwhelmed. She shakes her head.
HELEN: Still jetlagged, I havenāt slept in days, drunk far too much black coffee.
Pause.
HELEN: Iāve never felt so British.
Sound of LILY laughing. HELEN smiles.
HELEN: My Cantonese is terrible and my Mandarin is even worse. I thought that here Iād blend in but Iām enormous, Iām the English girl who grew up in a chippy. The Hong Kong girls are tiny and immaculate wear heels and twinsets in this heatā¦ Iāve never felt as lost as I do here. This morning I tried taking a shortcut, got stuck in a shopping mall, kept going round in circles, interconnected never-ending shopping malls, the same shops in different places: Gap, Zara, Mango, J Crew, Starbucksā¦ Itās not what Iā¦
A STREET HAWKER enters on another part of the stage pushing a metal trolley, stops and starts to cook on the hot plate.
HELEN: Itās too busy here, all I do is work and ā¦rush. There are too many people but nobody who matters and Iām always on my own. I miss you and Manchester, miss your cooking. I triedā¦ but cooking for oneās depressing.
The smell of cooking fills the theatre. HELEN inhales, walks towards the STREET HAWKER.
HELEN: (in Cantonese.) Give me one portion.
The STREET HAWKER doesnāt understand.
HELEN: (in English.) One portion please.
The STREET HAWKER hands HELEN a portion of siu mai.
HELEN: Siu mai. The smell reminds me of you, of home.
HELEN eats.
LILY appears.
HELEN closes her eyes.
HELEN: I havenāt slept....
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Characters
- Hong Kong
- At Sea