White Pearl

Set in the offices of the all-female Clearday cosmetics start-up in Singapore, White Pearl is the finely crafted dark comedy that our stages have been craving. Based on an absurd situation of a real-life racist cosmetics ad that went viral in 2016, the background provides playwright Anchuli Felicia King with a checkerboard on which to place some hilarious characters to comment on gender and corporate powerplay politics. It's a corporate playground where women are just as capable of losing their emotional intelligence when tempted by the lure of cash. And, as anyone who has ever worked in an all-female office knows, it doesn't take a male presence to engender a bullying environment - women are quite capable of infusing the atmosphere with toxic competition and back-stabbing without interference. And when it comes to self-perpetuating the enslavement of women's self-confidence, nothing does it quite like the beauty industry. Add the complex mix of caste and race that exists in Asia, and you have a powder-keg of chaotic office politics. In her perfectly faceted one-act play, King encapsulates all of the above. She presents deeply ingrained racism as the pink elephant balloon in the room -  pierced and popped for what it really is - just another clumsy tool in the human survival kit, used to pigeon hole and belittle fellow humans - in this case so they can be a corporate stepping stone to further power and money.

It didn't surprise me when I read that the playwright is a fan of David Mamet's corporate-set scenarios. White Pearl is a perfect female-powered equivalent. It highlights the self-importance of start-ups that celebrate their success in the competitive marketplace, often while eschewing the altruistic aims that helped establish the company originally. This is illustrated by a stockmarket-like news ticker screen ever-present on stage, showing the tally on social media hits and controversial Twitter comments that have elevated Clearday to the global headlines. The action takes place in a sleek corporate setting, achieved by designer Jeremy Allen, with lighting design by Damien Cooper unusually taking centre stage in a hilarious visual punchline in neon, and the complex themes tied up in a big knotty soundtrack by composer and sound designer, Michael Toisuta, and associate Me-Lee Hay.

White Pearl's finely honed sharp edge and tight pace reflects its developmental history - from a reading in New York (where King studied) at the Roundabout Theatre (2017) to Playwriting Australia's National New Play Development program and National Play Festival (2018), to a debut season at London's Royal Court Theatre (2019) and sell-out Australian debut at National Theatre of Parramatta in 2019. The characters have had ample time to mature into well-rounded comic creations and King does not stint on generously giving performers outstanding opportunities to showcase their comic and dramatic talents.

This stunning cast do not disappoint and all are making their Queensland Theatre debuts. Vaishnavi Suryaprakash absolutely shines as start-up founder Priya Singh, blending corporate harshness with University College London wit and street smarts. It is a compelling performance. Lin Yin is a comic delight as Xiao Chen, the unwitting linchpin to the action that precipitates the online scandal. But her Chinese background presents more dramatic outcomes for the character beyond a mere sacking from the firm. Don't be fooled by the seemingly timid presence of Mayu Iwasaki as Japanese newbie Ruki who has bailed from a post at Chanel to work for Clearday, or Deborah An's Korean industrial chemist, Soo-Jin: when these characters step out of the shadows, the performers really show the strength of their capabilities. Matthew Pearce shatters the all-female presence and achieves a fine performance as the comic French lover, Marcel - but is the character so formidable? Standing up to his stalking is love interest Built, played wonderfully fiercely by Nicole Milinkovic, perfectly capturing a character who takes advantage wherever she can, using her US-educated edge and monied arrogance to survive. Cheryl Ho almost steals the stage in surely one of the best comic creations of the millennial age as Sunny Lee, the self-pronounced office 'genius' who has a way with words when it comes to describing the action and putting everyone else in their place. But this is a true ensemble cast, achieved with deft direction by the accomplished Priscilla Jackman whose production of White Pearl for the Sydney Theatre Company in 2019 won the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Ensemble. I would not be surprised if this cast was not also recognised for their work. It really is a treat to watch them in action in this must-see production.

White Pearl is at Queensland Theatre's Bille Brown Theatre until 10 July and then tours to Canberra and Sydney.

Beth Keehn

Buy the script here.

Photographer: Philip Erbacher