Can the colour of your skin influence the opportunities that are open to you?

As the years have moved on and racial equality has taken significant steps forward, many of us might think that the answer is “no”.

But Adrian Tang – a local actor and director who has been involved in community theatre in Berkshire since 2008 – believes the answer is a definite “yes”.

He has set up a theatre company, “Exit Pursued By Panda” (a play on the infamous Shakespeare stage direction “Exit, pursued by a bear”). It aims to help other people avoid the problems he has encountered as a British East Asian actor.

Read our interview to discover Adrian’s story; the imbalances that his company aims to address; and the ways in which you can get involved (even if you aren’t interested in acting).

 You never know – a new career in theatre may be a few paragraphs away!

Tell us about “Exit Pursued By Panda”.

“It’s a theatre company that exists to create more opportunities for British East Asian people in Berkshire’s theatre market. It has three aims:

 First, I want to make sure that even if I’m staging a play that isn’t about British East Asians – they can still audition for parts with the knowledge that they’ll be given equal consideration.

This might not sound like a big deal, but it really is. For example, it can be very difficult to get cast in an English period drama where (if it’s played in an historically accurate way) you wouldn’t expect to see many East Asians in key roles. So I want to make sure that the plays I put on don’t automatically exclude Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME).

Second, I want to put on shows that are about, or have roles specifically for, British East Asians. There are actually surprisingly few plays that facilitate this and aren’t about East Asian stereotypes.  Having just recently made contact with the British East Asian theatre community I would say that it’s very difficult at this moment but in time, it’s something I hope we’re able to do in the future.

 Third, I want to stage plays that shine a light on social issues – whether they’re about race or not. From my own experiences, I know people struggle with things that aren’t fully understood by society. Theatre is one way to change that. For example, our next show, Colder Than Here, is about a woman who is living with advanced secondary bone cancer.”

Does this mean you only cast British East Asians in your plays?

“Not at all. 

 My priority is always to cast the right person for the role – whoever they are and whatever their background is.

However, I haven’t met many British East Asian actors in Berkshire. I really don’t see many at auditions.  From experience, this is perhaps a cultural issue within the general British East Asian community, which deserves a wider topic of discussion. Or perhaps it’s because a lot of British East Asian actors just don’t see the point in auditioning as they don’t think they’ll be cast.

Whatever the reason, if they know about me and the company, my hope is that they’ll start to come forward – recognizing that they’ll be given an equal opportunity to act.

 If that happened, I think we could achieve some really spectacular things together”.

What made you start up the company?

 “There were two things – my own history, and the public furore that erupted after “In The Depths Of Dead Love” was staged by The Print Room in January 2017.

 That play was based on a Chinese fable, set in Ancient China and was about Chinese people – there were characters with names like Chin and Lady Hasi. But when the cast was announced, they were exclusively white. The British East Asian community staged a peaceful protest outside the theatre, but there were ugly scenes when the patrons left – in particular, protestors were insulted and spat at.

 There are other examples too – the manga “Ghost In The Shell” was turned into a Hollywood film recently, and again many (though not all) of the key roles were played by white actors.

 This really made me think about my own history. I’ve been involved in theatre, operettas and musicals since school. But whenever I’ve auditioned for anything, the biggest thing I’m aware of is the fact that I’m Chinese, perhaps because it is the most visible part of my identity.

Not so long ago I auditioned for an Oscar Wilde play. I didn’t get very far – the director said they wanted “a certain look” for a particular character.  I understood the message and went to seek opportunities elsewhere.    

This attitude has changed in recent years – I’ve started to get bigger roles where directors have been willing to cast other ethnic groups in roles that you might assume would be “white British”. Plus I’ve created my own opportunities by developing my skills as a director.

I really hope this shows other British East Asians that it is possible to advance in theatre – even if it might feel like an uphill struggle at times.”

How can people get involved with “Exit Pursued By Panda”?

“Check out my website – https://exitpursuedbypanda.com. It tells you how to get in touch with me and will contain some information about our upcoming shows. 

But I want to make sure that everyone has a chance to get involved with what I’m doing – even if they aren’t interested in acting.

Lots of people have a creative side but don’t want to stand up in front of a room of people. But there are still lots of thing you can do. For example, you can be a light and sound technician; a production manager; a stage manager or stage hand; then there are opportunities in marketing and PR. The list is endless!

If you’re interested, I’m directing two plays across the next year. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is being produced at Progress Theatre next March.  The audition notice is already out for that – http://progresstheatre.co.uk/audition-a-dolls-house.  I’m then directing a newly-written piece which we’ll be showing as part of The Studio Theatre Company’s programme in Bracknell next May. Following that, I plan to tour it around several Fringe Festivals in 2019.

I’m also really keen to hear from playwrights who have stories to tell about, or featuring, British East Asians – maybe we could stage your play.

In the meantime, Colder Than Here by Laura Wade, the play I’m currently directing runs from 3^rd-6^th October at The Studio Theatre in Bracknell.  If you want to see the types of shows I put on, you could come and see that – I’ll be around afterwards and would be happy to talk to anyone. The details can be found here – https://www.southhillpark.org.uk/events/colder-than-here/ “.

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