Cockroach

by Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho)

You can call him Cockroach, or Roach for short. He’s a catnip-smoking city slicker living in the dark corners behind the toilet. After diving into the diaper of a Chinese baby, Cockroach watches the boy grow up to lose his sense of identity. Understanding what it means to live in a world not built for outsiders, he attempts to help the boy reclaim his culture. But when the Bard himself makes a surprise appearance in hopes of influencing the boy with the “superior” English language, Cockroach finds himself caught in a collision of linguistics, longing, and lobsters (who sometimes burp). A unique exploration of xenophobia and the dangers of language erosion, Cockroach is a coming-of-age play about the stories we tell ourselves to comfort, to survive, to resist, to overcome, and to be.

97 pages, Paperback

Published September 24, 2024

Reviews

[Jillian B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This experimental work tells the story of a young immigrant from Hong Kong to Canada from three perspectives: the boy himself, William Shakespeare and a cockroach who tagged along on the journey. Each has a distinctive voice, and together they weave a heart-wrenching tale of xenophobia and exploitation.

The pleasing lyrical flow of the language brings to mind a spoken word poem. The performers often overlap in their speaking, as if harmonizing, and Cantonese is woven in in unexpected ways. I can imagine an audience being absolutely riveted. Parts of this play made me laugh out loud as I was reading, and others nearly brought me to tears. The ending was stirring, both bittersweet and hopeful.

I really enjoyed this work and I look forward to reading (and hopefully watching!) more works from this playwright.

[Shaun Lalani · Rating 4 out of 5]

a powerful, gripping play from a Montreal based author exploring the subject of queer/immigrant identities and the external pressure to conform to the standards of the society we inhabit. starts off a bit wayward, but the nexus of orientation and identify is carefully analysed through the lens of Shakespearean & cockroach-esque colloquies to produce a moving finale.

worth a read/watch