Beijing Cake @ TheSpace on the Mile

Edinburgh Zoo recently announced they hope to oversee the first ever panda to be born in the UK. While not involving brink-of-extinction animals, Year of the Horse Theare’s Beijing Cake is an eccentric tale about raising children. When a pregnant American official based in China breaks up with her boyfriend back home, she decides to raise the child as a Chinese citizen.

There are many good things about this brief and minimalist production. Its premise allows for multiple scenarios comparing Western and Eastern cultures – carefully poking fun at both sides of the Pacific. Absurdist exaggerations play on well-known stereotypes, but not in such a direct way as to be offensive. The weird physicalisations; poised body positions held for that extra moment, give the movements an almost Barbie feel, while the official’s perma-smile, portrays terror and disgust as much as it does happiness. The frequent Chinese accents do at times become distracting and although they elicit a few giggles, to reduce this show down to mockery, would be to do it an injustice. Disappointingly, especially with its subject matter, it comments remarkably little about China’s controversial birthing laws. However, this is a timely piece. As the US’s reliance on the Asian markets increases and as China pushes for a number one single in the Superpower Charts, it may not be long before Chinese-orientated theatre is a lot more apparent.