Some of Adelaide’s first-ever graduates from Adelaide University’s Bachelor of Music Theatre degree star in the new Fringe cabaret comedy Not Your Average Asian Girl.
Kira Yang, front and centre, is the subject of the show following her transformation from being quiet and shy on stage to embracing and eventually stealing the spotlight.
For Kira, who independently wrote and produced the show through her company o!ky Productions with support from the Helpmann Academy, it’s a chance to celebrate both graduating and participating in the Adelaide Fringe for the first time with her own creation.
“My life was a tragedy, so I made a comedy about it… I have all my music theatre friends performing with me, we’ve been through quite a lot together and as some of the first graduates of our degree, it’s going to be pretty special,” says Kira.
Navigating a career as an Asian performer in the Western world has not been easy, ultimately learning how to shout and play bogan roles, something that was not envisioned by her family. “It’s about time I make my mess my message and inspire people to leap out of their comfort zones with my story” says Kira.
“I do everything that contradicts my upbringing, we have failures and challenges in life, and everyone views these differently – I’m sharing my story through a mix of stand-up comedy, cabaret, dance, musical theatre and pop,” says Kira.
Not Your Average Asian Girl features Aiden Wang, Sasha Simić, Sean Jackson, Darcy Mae and Jemmah Rattley, who with Kira, sing, dance, fight and mingle with each other as stereotypes of Western and Eastern culture are destroyed and comfort zones smashed.
The show features songs from great musicals like Hamilton, Cabaret, Beauty and the Beast and Chicago, mixed in with well-known tracks from pop queens like Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift.
Kira has been performing and writing since her first performance in the production of La Bohème at the Shanghai Grand Theatre 10 years ago. As a musician and artist who also has credits to her name from roles in productions of Spring Awakening, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert and Peter Pan, Kira’s life experience helped create her own opportunity for autonomy.
Trained in traditional Asian music and Western music, o!ky Productions was the outlet Kira created with a vision to increase diversity in the arts with the goal to empower disadvantaged groups. It aims to tell important and inspiring stories through theatre, music, screen, multi-disciplinary projects and so much more.
Not Your Average Asian Girl will premiere on Sunday 27th February at Nexus Arts, running for five nights only. Tickets are now on sale at FringeTix.
To learn more about the show, keep updated or go behind the scenes with the cast, visit their website.
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