Diana Feng’s one-woman show, Don’t Call Me China Doll, explores internalised racism and self-acceptance as the eponymous China Doll prepares to audition to play Hollywood’s first Asian American film star, Anna May Wong.
Starting in the silent era, Anna May Wong appeared in over 60 movies, but racism and anti-miscegenation laws (forbidding romance between mixed-race couples) meant that she generally played stereotypical supporting roles, while white actresses in yellowface got leading parts. First revealed to us during phone sex in the laundrette she works in, protagonist China Doll climaxes while complaining about the moral conundrum of auditioning for the role of a woman she doesn’t like. China Doll pretends not to speak Mandarin and doesn’t like Asian men, preferring the status and security provided by an indifferent white lover. She feels superior to the East Asians who are Fresh Off the Boat, having grown up in America. As China Doll takes on the persona of the complex Anna May Wong, the parallels between their two lives help her acknowledge her insecurities, internalised racism, and unconscious biases. Like Anna May Wong, China Doll is too Chinese for Americans, but she is also too American for the Chinese. Through story, she learns to embrace inhabiting this uneasy hybrid ground.
Diana Feng’s performance as China Doll and Anna May Wong was generally strong. Our protagonist interacts with audience members—although this occasionally feels gimmicky, with an unstable fourth wall—revealing more about herself throughout the play. Feng transitions between China Doll and Suzy, the Daoist owner of the laundrette, and other characters to represent facets of Asian American identity. However, as Anna May Wong and China Doll’s identities begin to flow into one, character transitions are occasionally clunky, making it tricky to follow key plot points. Reduced visibility for most of the audience also impacts the efficacy of the show. Alone on stage, Feng nevertheless brings to life the love story between Anna May Wong and Eric Maschwitz through a touching duet of his famous jazz standard “These Foolish Things”.
Feng, who is completing a PhD in Culturally Specific Performance Practice and British East and Southeast Asian Representation, delivers a comical and insightful performance through beautifully crafted storytelling. By interweaving China Doll’s contemporary experience of Hollywood with Anna May Wong’s earlier Tinsel Town career, Feng poignantly explores whether Asian women are condemned to play a role to survive, or whether truth can liberate their narratives.
