The Boys are Back

Banana Boys Returns to Factory Theatre

Warning: this show does not contain scenes with bothersome buck-tooth Chinese neighbors nor does it portray wise old men with flowing beards jumping from rooftop to rooftop. And don't bother coming if you wanted to hear any of the following words: railroad, chop suey or kung-fu grip. In fact, you may want to stay home if the sight of five hip, attractive, sexy Asian guys leaves you unsettled - or at least a bit surprised.

Hotter than Jasmine Trias and bigger than King Kong, the hit play Banana Boys is back at the Factory Theatre after an award-winning tour at Ottawa's Magnetic North Festival. Banana Boys, the new stage adaptation by Leon Aureus, of the novel by critically acclaimed Toronto author Terry Woo, is a smart, contemporary and wickedly funny play that breaks down stereotypes and paints a candid picture of what it is to be an Asian-Canadian male. The story centers on the lives of five regular Chinese-Canadian guys in their mid-twenties. Trapped by parental obligations and societal expectations, these CBCs are neither fully Chinese nor Canadian. From the joys of beer and video games, to the frustrations of being stereotyped in mainstream media and passed over by Asian-Canadian women, Banana Boys captures what it means to be a "Yellow Guy" in the Great White North.

"Banana" is a term used to describe Canadian-born Chinese (CBC's) - yellow on the outside, white on the inside. Everyone knows a Banana Boy. He's the beer swilling IT guy bitter at his poor dating prospects with white and Asian women. He's the suave and ambitious young business man who learns Cantonese and plays the Asian card to get ahead. He's the quiet engineer with broken dreams of being a hockey star and romantic hopes for love. He's the nerdy sexually deprived son of a convenience store owner.

In particular, the five young men whose lives we follow run the gamut of the Asian Canadian experience: Rick the money hungry B.Comm player, Sheldon the hopeless romantic engineer, Luke the club crawling psych major, Dave the cynical woman hating computer science student, and Mike the pre-med hopeful who just wants to be a writer.

To toast the success of the show and the accomplishments of the Asian-Canadian community, Factory Theatre, in association with NAAAP Toronto, will be hosting its first ever Asian Culture Night at 8pm on October 4th 2005.

Here, Asian-Canadians of all ages can enjoy a wonderful evening of entertainment followed by a question and answer period with the show's proud Asian artistic team members. Find out how they created the show. Ask them in-depth questions about how they started their successful careers as performers and about their experiences and challenges with being Asian-Canadian.

For a discount price of only $18.50 per person, you can enjoy:

*A community networking reception in association with NAAAP Toronto, at 7pm on October 4th 2005, at 125 Bathurst Street (at Adelaide) Toronto, Ontario Canada M5V 2R2

*a performance of Banana Boys, the hit play that explores the trials & tribulations of 5 Asian-Canadian men, at 8pm

*an intimate post-show discussion with Asian-Canadian artistic team members of Banana Boys.

To book your tickets for Asian Culture Night, call 416-504-9971 or please visit www.factorytheatre.ca

Doors close at 7:45pm. No Latecomers are permitted!

RSVP for Community Reception at: rsvp (at) naaaptoronto (dot) org by Monday, Oct. 3rd; 12:00 noon

For other regular show dates and times click here. The play runs until October 16th so don't miss out!