Cambodian Rock Band

by Lauren Yee

In 1978, Chum fled Cambodia and narrowly escaped the murderous Khmer Rouge regime. Thirty years later, he returns in search of his wayward daughter, Neary. Jumping back and forth in time, thrilling mystery meets rock concert as both father and daughter are forced to face the music of the past.

From playwright Lauren Yee comes a story filled with horror, humor, pathos, and songs by the best unknown rock band in Cambodia!

Genres: Plays, Drama, Read For School, Asian American, School, Historical

127 pages, ebook

Published March 9, 2018

Reviews

[Josh Caporale]

3.5 stars

Review to follow.

[river]

the way this used music was insane!! such a good story and also is one that needs to be told

[Jared]

4.5*
I knew nothing about the Khmer Rouge going into this read, so the introduction and ending glossary really proved helpful in deepening my understanding of the setting and culture. I loved leading into this read with a suggested short video to watch. It was a trailer to a documentary that's relevant to this story very much, but not tied directly to it. It felt almost like a pseudo-trailer for this story despite any direct correlation to that video and this play. "If you want to eliminate values from past societies you have to eliminate the artists." That line from the trailer set the tone for what was to come in this story.
My biggest praise for Lauren Yee's writings here, are that they showcase a historic time for Cambodia and fill me in on the beautiful parts of their culture and music. I rocked out so hard to all of the music, but Uku by Dengue Fever has to be my favorite. One part because it was the first song that I listened to of their many tracks. (Cyclo by the same band is actually the first song listed, but I couldn't find it at first.) The rest of the music does such a great job of filling the atmosphere as I read the play, so I truly recommend to interrupt your reading with turning on these songs as they come up in the story.
That atmosphere has a lot of humor strewn about and does get quite intense as flashbacks come into the mix. It balances moments of camaraderie amongst friends with other moments that ask questions like, "How far would you go to protect your family and future?" and "What does that protection entail?"

[papapattinson]

how did i never know anything abt the khmer rouge or that they even existed until now

[Aaron Thomas]

Really powerful while also being pleasurable. This breaks apart its mostly realistic scenic conventions with the theatricality of a rock band. But it also has two really fantastic violent scenes that are presented judiciously and intelligently. I enjoyed this a lot.

EDIT: Read for a second time and was even more moved.

[Morgan]

Entering new levels of pretentious and now writing reviews of ~plays~ on here

I read this for my Vietnam War class and absolutely loved it. It presents the Cambodian Genocide through the lens of rock music (which sounds crazy, I know) but is genuinely so beautiful and well-done. The double-casting of Chum's daughter/friends as Chum's college-aged friends? Works so well and draws such a beautiful throughline during the show. The decision to have one of the Khmer Rouge leaders be an omnipresent narrator that creates mischief in both timelines? So haunting. The music being rock songs? Both so fun and so emotioally gutting at the same time.

If you read it, you have to listen to the cast recordings of the music, though. It adds such an element and made it genuinely so moving to read.

(When will Morgan stop reading books about the Vietnam War? Who knows)

[Jamie]

I had the opportunity to read this, but I'd really love to see this staged. It's already devastatingly funny/horrifying/honest/beautiful on the page, I can only imagine how great it'd be with staging and music.

Sure, there's some narrative convenience. But isn't that true of all/most theater? The emotional core and truths are real, and painful, and forgiving even as they indict.

Also the music are bangers, definitely check out Dengue Fever / the show playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Ic...

[Rebekah]

DUCH.
In short, nothing in Cambodia stays buried for long. Sooner or later, it all rises to the surface.

I had sort of heard of this play before but I never went about pursuing more information about it and I really wish I'd checked it out earlier. The music is amazing, I read this while listening to the cast recording and it really enhanced the experience. I would love to see how the live band, double casting, and breaking the fourth wall all work in a production.

Pretty amazing, highly recommended.

[Ava Alexiades]

This play was so much better the second time I read it. It is rich in cultural history and how Cambodian culture is perceived in the present and the past. Also, placing a real life villain as the narrator of the story is fascinating. The rock band element encapsulated the tone of the play and revived an era of Cambodian music and pop culture that was dissipated with the entrance of the Khmer Rouge. The songs were awesome.

[Thomas Correnti]

Cute! Went in places I wasn’t expecting, but it was fun while it lasted, even if that was a very short duration. I feel like even though they aren’t the main focus, Ted and Neary needed a little bit more character to latch onto. But Chum was interesting! And so was Duch! Overall, better than Sila (I read these both for class) because even if the first half isn’t as gripping at least the second half isn’t a complete mess 😁

[Antoinette]

Just saw in Ashland. One of the best plays i have ever seen, hands down. Amazingly crafted, all these elements return and yet it feels utterly real, human and devastating . One thing the book wouldn’t provide - at the end the audience can leap onto the stage and dance cathartically. I don’t usually join in but it was the perfect counterpoint to the agitating grief

[Diane]

Interesting story, predicted the plot, but nonetheless a story worth telling. Some voices just need to be heard. This is one of them.

[Edward Bromberg]

Woolf love to ser this staged or stage it myself - but where to find a Cambodian rock band in Sweden.

[Olivia Howe]

This was a great read on the history of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. I thought it did a great job knowing when to be comedic versus serious. I would love to see the play someday.

[Daphne Miller]

this play was actually so good, my favorite book i've ever read for school. SO funny and super educational, a great way to learn about the cambodian genocide.

[Annika]

4.5 stars. Very funny and well written but also very informative and heartbreaking.

[Yana]

3.5

[Loowit Morrison]

SO GOOD SO GOOD SO GOOD

[Joli Flynn]

Probably one of the best plays I've ever read, having the cast recording playing during the songs definitely made the experience

[Si Berks]

oh just so damn good.

[Hayley]

“Because while Buddha believes karma depends on one’s deeds, Christianity is a little more than lenient.” 90
“All my life, I lose people. All my life, they go. I think, you see me for who I was, what I still am: you not gonna want me no more. And i think to myself, “Wow, that is the worst thing that could happen.”” 96

[Marissa]

Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band focuses on a moment in history that’s probably unfamiliar to most Americans: the Cambodian genocide of the late ‘70s, as seen through the eyes of a Phnom Penh garage-rock band whom the Khmer Rouge regime persecutes as Westernized intellectuals. The actors play and sing this awesome music live onstage (also check out Yee’s Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/8m03162...), which should provide a joyful counterbalance to a story that is, after all, about some of the worst cruelties that humans have inflicted on one another. The role of Duch is a great opportunity for an Asian actor to play a flamboyant, Roy Cohn-type villain. And we get a wonderfully complex portrait of the central character, Chum: from cocky musician to frightened prisoner to stubborn immigrant dad.

I’m just not sure about the frame story, which involves a young Cambodian-American woman working to bring Khmer Rouge criminals to justice and learning the true story of how her father (Chum) survived the genocide. It’s pretty clear that Yee has included this frame to help provide exposition and ease American audiences into the play. But it’s kind of a clichéd setup, and the young woman’s problems seem inconsequential in comparison to the literally life-and-death stakes of her father’s story.

[Paola]

(review tbw, but until then, holy shit)