Born in a conservative Christchurch environment to a Te Awamutu-born Chinese mother and Fiji-born Chinese father, it is only natural actor Sonia Yee had a few questions about her identity as a New Zealander of Chinese descent. The result of much soul-searching is her solo-show The Wholly Grain, making its Auckland premiere on 31st August, before returning to Wellington in mid-September.
Born in a conservative Christchurch environment to a Te Awamutu-born Chinese mother and Fiji-born Chinese father, it is only natural actor Sonia Yee had a few questions about her identity as a New Zealander of Chinese descent. The result of much soul-searching is her solo-show The Wholly Grain, making its Auckland premiere on 31st August, before returning to Wellington in mid-September.
A staging of the reworked play comes at the perfect time for New Zealanders, with Asian immigration an election issue. The divisive nature of spanning two cultures and feelings of cultural isolation motivated Yee to create the show and express her own journey from being a teenager embarrassed about her Asian heritage, to becoming a mature artist
proud of her duel cultural position.

'The Wholly Grain' travels back to China and explores the tale of a Princess from ancient Chinese legend, through to New Zealand-Chinese born Jocelyn - in search of her place of belonging amidst the bubbling of deep-fryers in the family takeaway in a story that mirrors Yee's own. As she explains, "My parents ran a takeaway business when I was young, but it didn't go too well because my mother was a terrible cook!"

The show first emerged as a monologue when Yee was a student at Toi Whakaari National Drama School. After graduating she developed it into an hour-long production that had a sell out season at BATS Theatre in 2003. A subsequent trip to China opened up a different perspective for Yee, and she now brings a reworked and more mature version to the stage.

Yee has successfully developed her career as an actor-for-hire between seasons of The Wholly Grain, most prominently with a nomination for a Chapman Tripp Theatre Award in 2004 for her role as The Monkey King in 'Monkey' (NZ International Festival of the Arts). She also played an Asian school boy in the critically acclaimed premiere of Paul Rothwell's 'Hate Crimes' at BATS Theatre this year.

The 2005 production of 'The Wholly Grain' is directed by Penni Bousfield and features lighting design by Laurie Dean, set design by Carlos Wedde, and traditional Chinese music.

'The Wholly Grain' shows at Herald Theatre via STAMP @ THE EDGE ® in Auckland
from 31st August - 10th September 8pm, with tickets available from Ticketek,
ph 09 307 5000. The Wellington season runs at Circa Studio from 14th - 24th
September 7.30pm (4.30pm Sunday), with tickets available from the venue, ph 04
801 7992.