Date of Interview: 18 July 2025
Interviewer: Joanne Leung
Interviewee: Gabby Wong
JOANNE LEUNG
First of all, Gabby, thank you so much for taking the time, sit down and have a chat with us about everything on New Earth. Everything that’s worth celebrating for. So let’s start with how did your journey with New Earth Theatre begin?
GABBY WONG
Well, I am old. I’ve been around for a long time, and I first came into contact with New Earth before it was New Earth and its previous incarnation with a name that was very well changed after, with a new name, much more inclusive.
New Earth is a great theatre name. I went to Asia House. I think I was still at drama school at the time. Yeah, I must have been. I was still at drama school at the time, and I went to Asia House to watch a panel discussion about Shakespeare and how it translated, how it can translate into other cultures.
And particularly in this panel discussion, it was a Korean adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. It was really well-received, and it toured the whole of Korea. And I think that particular production also went to the Hong Kong Arts Festival as well, which is where I’m from. So that’s the first time I came in contact with back then Yellow Earth was that panel discussion, then went to watch a play they did at Soho Theatre about the cockle pickers who died in Morecambe Bay. And was just stunned because there were people who were Asian who were on stage. And I was like, great, I can make a career out of this as well. And then I would say, I then used to do these new writing festivals at Soho Theatre. I think at the time they had a really good partnership with Soho Theatre, and I was involved in this festival is used to be called Typhoon, with lots of new writings from the Asian diaspora writers, and, did several of those readings of new plays where actually it was really great because it was a full like, it ran for 3 or 4 weeks.
And each week you do a new play, and each night there are like 2 or 3 plays. So like in a week you get ten plays, you hear ten plays. And they are always, always sold out in the studio space upstairs in the Soho Theatre on Dean Street. So that was the first time, and I think I had been out of drama school for a couple of years by then.
That was the first time I actually worked for them. This is a lot as I’m not. I’m just thinking about my history with them.
JOANNE LEUNG
You were saying Yellow Earth changing into New Earth, and you were here before, back in the days. What was the first impression of the company when you joined or encountered it?
GABBY WONG
I think the landscape of the theatre industry has changed so much since I came into the company. Yellow Earth, at the time, was run by David Tse and it was really focused on bringing out really traditional storytelling through sort of like the Asian practices, which could feel slightly alienating for the Western Eurocentric psyche. But then again, it was really committed to telling stories that are about the British Chinese, very focused on Chinese. British Chinese lived experiences. So at the time I was I remember thinking I was really young and green. I was thinking, I, I’m not entirely sure what this company wants to do, apart from actually just making sure to let people know that we’re here and we are able to make meaningful pieces of theatre.
I didn’t really sort of connect really emotionally with Yellow Earth until Kumiko approached me and said, can you come in and read for a play that has been written by Jeremy Tiang? And we are doing workshops about it, and it’s about the old Chinatown in Limehouse, and I said, I didn’t even know there was an old Chinatown in Limehouse. And then suddenly the stories were, when I read the script and was workshopping it with Jeremy and Kumiko, suddenly I was just like, oh, it’s about people.
It’s about people’s lived experiences. And we had these, like, oral histories of people who lived there back in 1880, whatever. Doing a walking tour of the area and going, there’s a road in Limehouse in East 14 postcode that’s called Canton Street or Ming Street or Amoy Place. And I’m like, what? These are really Chinese names, what’s going on?
And I was just like, oh, it wasn’t until then, and this was ten years ago. It wasn’t until then that I was like, oh, more than ten years ago, 11 years ago, that I was like, oh, like when you try and excavate the people rather than a form that really stood out to me.
But I remember I will say this though, because like Sir Ian McKellen lives down there, we all know that Ian McKellen lives down there and he came to watch our show.
Oh my God. And it was a promenade show and he was there in the linen and his linen trousers, in the depths of summer, and came to the Limehouse Hall, which is this wonderful, dilapidated. It’s got so much history in that building like, you know, the NHS was born from that building and all of that stuff like. That area is so rich with history.
So I really loved that show. I loved that show. I got my first ever Guardian mention in a review, and I was like, I loved that show. That was Jeremy and Kumiko and actually Gary Murray, who is also one of the co-directors of that. Yeah. And actually it was one of the first times I actually got to work with Kumiko in a way that I hadn’t known before, and it was really great.
JOANNE LEUNG
Do you remember a moment when you really felt part of the new family, and what made that special?
GABBY WONG
Yeah, I think it was probably that show because it was also the first I think it might have been like, actually, you might be able to tell me, and I had been the first year where it was called then the Yellow Academy. I think it might have been the first year because we had like a community chorus of actors as part of the show. They were as part of their sort of free training of two… I don’t know how long they had it back then.
JOANNE LEUNG
And I imagine this is also a production, (The Last Days of) Limehouse, that you were involved in with New Earth. That was just the most meaningful to you. Would you say that?
GABBY WONG
I would say so. Yeah.
JOANNE LEUNG
Well, this is a question, but I mean, I think you were an actor in that production of (The Last Days of) Limehouse?
GABBY WONG
Yeah, I was an actor. I went from sort of like a workshop stage to full production. So I can’t, my memory’s shot to bits, but I think it was over a period of a year, the best part of a year that, like bits of it, we worked on it. And I remember going like walking around Limehouse and joining in like random old people mahjong sessions in the Limehouse Chinese community and trying to ask them questions.
And they’re just trying to feed us lunch. And we’re like, God, you’re such a Chinese auntie. But it was really collaborative in a way, because we workshopped it, so much before we actually went, but had the rehearsal script.
JOANNE LEUNG
Were there any memorable, surprising moments during the rehearsal or performance process you mentioned? Ian McKellen came and watched it like –
GABBY WONG
Oh yeah, no, only because I have a friend who was friends with Ian, and I’ve been to his house before, and I knew it was around the corner. So I just wrote a little card and put it through his letterbox, and he came. So Ian McKellen came to see the show.
Yeah, I mentioned it. It was a promenade show, sort of like an audience regrouped in different sections and really immersive. And, you know, later on we had, it was set in the 50s. So we had, you know, Spring Patrol come and do some swing dancing afterwards. So like, there’s like an after party. And it really brought the community together.
And also, there was also pre production. We also had a sort of like, a showing again at Soho Theatre. And it had, it felt like a bit of an educational outreach as well. There were just so many things about that show.
Memorable moment. I had to kiss one of my best friends. It felt really weird because we played husband and wife and it just felt like incest.
It was bad, all in the name of art. It was just the first time during the rehearsal and then Kumiko was like, look, you guys are so cute, as loving, working, bickering couple. I think there needs to be a little kiss. And we were just like, no, I don’t think so. We’ve known each other for so long.
And then I was like, oh God, yeah, I do have to kiss one of my best friends. Okay.
JOANNE LEUNG
That was a time when intimacy coordinator wasn’t the thing.
GABBY WONG
Yeah. And we didn’t have a language to go, how do we do this? But you know, afterwards we were like, okay, yeah, we’re cool. We’re never going to kiss again until another job comes along and we know how to deal with it, though.
JOANNE LEUNG
And an extension of that. I heard that you mentioned Kumiko’s involvement in the rehearsal process. How would you describe New Earth’s approach to storytelling and representation?
GABBY WONGUnder Kumiko’s guidance I would say the way she worked was to bring out the new generation of people, and it’s kind of like peer to peer support.
And that is what was really incredible about that era of New Earth. And also like that there’s a whole generation out there of East Asian actors and creatives that were nurtured and brought together by Kumiko and New Earth, and we owe a lot to that woman and to the support framework that was put around New Earth. I think that was the best thing.
I remember someone asked me a while ago, like, who inspired me, and I was like, my peers inspired me. Because of how everyone works together. It really felt like there wasn’t a hierarchy of anything. It just felt collaborative and level, like literally leveling up with everybody. And that was another thing. Like the Constellation Bursary was, what an incredible thing.
Like Orion, who sort of initiated it. He was just like, I’m just doing my thing. I like it, and he’s so understated about it, but he initiated this whole thing. And again, it’s like leveling up is like everybody for I know I’m older and I’ve been around longer, but I’m learning so much from other people like yourselves and who are coming through drama school now.
It’s just like this now. It just felt like there was a time where East Asian actors are pitted against each other because there are so few opportunities, whereas under like under New Earth during the Kumiko era, and Ailin’s been in for a year as well, and it feels the same that everyone’s sort of just trying to build a community rather than going like, we need to be in that play about Chinese people, written by a white person, directed by a white person, you know what I mean?
JOANNE LEUNG
I guess you also would say, then this sets New Earth apart from other theater companies in the sense it’s so intentional about building a community.
GABBY WONG
Yeah, absolutely. And it was, it is just yeah, you nailed it. That was so succinct and completely exactly what it is.
JOANNE LEUNG
How do you think New Earth contributes to the visibility of British East and Southeast Asian artists and their stories?
GABBY WONG
So massively. You know, it started out when it was, you know, I was just five, frustrated East Asian performers who were like, I’ve got no… I need to make opportunities for myself. And all of those people are still working. And Kumiko’s back on stage, which is wonderful. And then it evolved. And then, like I said before, there’s a whole generation of artists, writers, actors, designers, directors who have come through New Earth programmes and New Earth’s support framework.
So it’s just going back to (The Last Days of) Limehouse, like, you know, it was designed by Moi Tran, who now is everywhere designing everything. And, she had not that much budget, but she still made it look like we were back in 1950s East London. And writers like Jeremy, who has an OBE Award, lives in New York and is an award winning writer, like, who is judging for the Booker Prize and all of that stuff.
And Mei Mac, she came through that generation, and she’s the first and only Olivier nominated (BESEA) actress. And just the visibility is huge. And then it also gave confidence to people to do their own thing as well. Like, you know, New Earth’s new framework at the moment, there’s a whole bunch of us who are a part of the Royal Court writing programme specifically for East and Southeast Asian voices.
And I met, we met together and then, several of us started Papergang together. But now Clarissa is part of the core team of New Earth. And Clarissa ran that theatre company for ten years. New Earth contributes so massively to the visibility of artists without saying we did this, like without saying, like, you stand on our shoulders and that no, it’s not.
It’s like we’re just all together.
JOANNE LEUNG
And as an extension of that, have you felt that you witnessed or experienced a shift in the industry because of the work New Earth has done?
GABBY WONG
I would say it was sort of like a seismic shift. Without the work that New Earth has done, it wouldn’t have given the artists that ultimately stood up to misrepresentation, the voices of confidence that then tipped the scale for it to have that change and fight for it.
JOANNE LEUNG
Now, what challenges have you faced as a British East or Southeast Asian artist in the UK theatre landscape and how has New Earth supported or responded to those challenges?
GABBY WONG
There have been a few just misrepresentations of what the lived experiences are. And also they’re being sidelined for things because you don’t look a certain type. And that has changed, but there’s still an unconscious bias to it, you know, that I would say New Earth contributed it in terms of it really nurtured, for a little while there was a sort of a writing cohort to encourage people to write their own stories, which they have gone on to do more and more and more and more of.
And also like, you know, under Ailin making sure the stories that are being told are the experiences of the East and Southeast Asian diaspora that comes from the community rather than be handed to us, then for us to consult. Like we’re not cultural consultants and it still happens, you know?
JOANNE LEUNG
In what ways has the company evolved over time, especially in relation to inclusion, access or advocacy?
GABBY WONG
I really think that wonderfully telling stories that are beyond just race based, hence the name change, which was welcomed, very, very welcomed. And also it’s expanded more further afield to just it was so Chinese centric as well that it felt like it wasn’t fulfilling what it was set out to do.
And I’m going I’m going to say this, we need to make work that are beyond identity politics, and New Earth is really shifting towards that, because I don’t want to see another Chinese woman suffer on stage, even though I’ve just done a show about Chinese women suffering on stage, I think we just need to move beyond it and not assimilate.
But actually we’re telling stories about people, but they just happen to be of a certain race or a certain cultural background, or eat certain food that’s different at home, or speak a different language. That’s it. We don’t have to comment on every single thing, heavy politics doesn’t help storytelling.
JOANNE LEUNG
Well, what does it mean to you to be part of New Earth’s 30 year legacy Gabby?
GABBY WONG
Oh my God, I have, I am glad to say I have only been involved with New Earth for only a third of it, so I don’t feel that old.
I think it’s wonderful that it’s still going. I think it’s great. You had Paines Plough who are having their 50th year, and you have other institutions who are having their however many years. And this company started 30 years ago. Some of us weren’t even born. I was born, but like, you know, some people weren’t born then.
And it’s just, it’s a testament to the community that we’re still around and it’s evolving. I feel very privileged to have been involved in whatever capacity.
JOANNE LEUNG
And what do you hope audiences take away from the work of New Earth?
GABBY WONG
I see every theatrical experience as a learning moment, even if you don’t realise you are learning anything. And I’m hoping that it brings a different audience to the theatre.
So we are then shaping the bigger landscape differently as well. So we’re not just making work for a certain demographic.
JOANNE LEUNG
And in relation to that, what are your hopes for the next generation of British East Southeast Asian artists and for New Earth’s future?
GABBY WONG
My hopes. Keep doing it, but like to keep making work and making meaningful work that are not going to compromise who you are.
Yeah, and I just I’m so in awe of everybody who’s still who’s making work and still writing and still directing and still acting, because theatre is, I think, in, in the age that we are going through, authenticity is going to be the commodity that we need to bank on rather than trying to fit into a certain algorithm or completely artificial in any way.
So keep making work that is authentic to you and not betray who you are, even if it is a little bit of identity. politics; it’s fine.
JOANNE LEUNG
If you could leave a message to someone discovering New Earth for the first time, what would you say?
GABBY WONG
There’s a great community here. Just come and find out what else this great bunch of people can offer.
JOANNE LEUNG
And then finally, is there a line or memorable moment from a new production that has stayed with you?
GABBY WONG
The Last Days of Limehouse after the show, we were leaving and a really old lady came up to us and went, “you just told my life”. She was like 80 and her granddaughter took her to go and see it.