Actor and writer Vera Chok brings her new work-in-progress show to Omnibus Theatre, London exploring the complexities of race, gender, and belonging with humour and vulnerability.
Vera Chok, the acclaimed writer and actor known for her roles in Hollyoaks, Chimerica, and 2:22 – A Ghost Story, is back on stage with a new solo show that promises to be both hilarious and thought-provoking.
Angry Yellow Woman, a work-in-progress comedy horror, delves into Chok’s personal experiences as an immigrant person of colour navigating life in the UK. But it’s far more than just a personal story. Chok uses her own experiences to explore universal themes of identity, belonging, and the search for meaning in a chaotic world.
“It’s about me,” Chok explains in a recent interview. “That’s the simple answer, and hopefully, you know, they say the personal can be universal. It’s about me trying to fit in.” This “fitting in,” however, is not about conforming to societal expectations. Instead, Chok questions how to stay true to herself while navigating a landscape where East and Southeast Asian people are often “invisible or overlooked.”
Chok, who grew up in Malaysia and moved to England at 17, describes feeling increasingly alienated the longer she’s lived here. “Oddly the longer I lived here, the more alien I felt,” she says. “But it’s also not just being an immigrant, but sort of being in a female presenting body.” This feeling of “otherness” is further complicated by the pressures of the entertainment industry, where actors are often expected to conform to certain looks and sounds.
In Angry Yellow Woman, Chok pushes back against these pressures, using comedy and clowning to challenge the audience’s perceptions and her own. “I specifically want to talk about clowning,” she says. ” Following the teachings of Philippe Gaulier, the clown makes themselves open and vulnerable on stage.” This vulnerability, she believes, is key to creating a genuine connection with the audience and fostering a sense of shared humanity.
“It’s funny, right?” she says. “It’s funny when someone, in a very basic way, they fall over a banana skin… because we’ve all done it. We’ve all done something similar. We’ve experienced looking stupid, so I guess comedy shows us the silliness of being alive, you know, on a very basic level and makes us feel better about our situations.”
But Angry Yellow Woman isn’t simply light-hearted entertainment. Chok doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, weaving in reflections on mental health, racial politics, and the meaning of life. “There’s terrible things happening in the world,” she says. “What is the point? … How can we live better if we know that this [is] coming? How can we live better? How do we… find joy and beauty?”
The show is still a work in progress, which adds another layer of intrigue. Chok is actively shaping and refining the performance, using audience feedback to hone her message. This makes Angry Yellow Woman not just a show, but a living, breathing piece of art that evolves with each performance. Incidentally, Chok’s debut collection of poetry, also titled Angry Yellow Woman, was released earlier this year and explores similar themes in poetic form.
Chok’s unique blend of humour, vulnerability, and social commentary, combined with the raw energy of a work-in-progress, is sure to make Angry Yellow Woman a compelling and unforgettable experience.
Angry Yellow Woman is part of a double bill with 3 Minutes Inside My Brain by Jennifer Jordan. Both shows are playing at Omnibus Theatre, London from 26th October. Book your tickets now and use the discount code BRAIN10 for 10% off your purchase.
