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Culture Theatre

No Foreigners is visually intriguing but could use a director

NO FOREIGNERS with text by David Yee (fu-GEN/Hong Kong Exile). At the Theatre Centre (1115 Queen West). Runs to February 25. $18-$28. 416-538-0988. See listing. Rating: NNN

The notion of foreignness is intriguing especially in this diverse country.

But No Foreigners, a multimedia collaboration between Torontos fu-GEN Theatre and Vancouvers Hong Kong Exile, explores another aspect, looking at what the phrase might mean within Canadas Chinese diaspora.

In a Chinese mall in an unnamed city imagine Markhams Pacific Mall an Asian-Canadian man looking to buy an expensive bag is turned away by an old Chinese shop owner who says, dismissively, No foreigners.

This kick-starts a series of vignettes some involving the man, some not all set in this mall.

A few sequences are funny, like the one involving an older couple who are looking to compete with Amazon with a (not so modern) website.

And there are fascinating takes on pan-Asian cliches, like koi fish, ninjas, jade and, of course, karaoke.

While David Yees text has lots of range surreal one moment, down-to-earth the next its the design of the show thats most memorable.

Miniature figures are manipulated by performers April Leung and Derek Chan (who voice all the characters), and HD cameras project those images onto a big screen.

The result is hypnotic visually sleek, futuristic and oddly soothing but not always gripping theatre.

Theres lots of care in the miniature design, by Natalie Tin Yin Gan, Leung and Chan and projection and sound design by Milton Lim and Remy Siu.

But theres no director listed in the program, which accounts for the scattered quality of the experience.

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