Award-winning play returns home

THE critically acclaimed one-man play Yong will return to Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat next week.

The production is set in 1857 during the gold rush, blending historical fact with narrative fiction.

Created by Jenevieve Chang in collaboration with Ballarat’s Chinese community, Yong aims to transport the audience from China to the Ballarat goldfields.

The play tells the story of a young boy and his father who travel from their small village in China to the goldfields of Ballarat, hoping to strike it rich.

Yong longs for his home but finds resilience in the challenges of the new country.

“Yong is such an important theatrical work for not only Her Maj and the City of Ballarat, but for our Chinese community,” said City of Ballarat manager cultural venues Kristy Witmitz.

“Yong gives us a chance to fill the gaps left in history lessons and share these intimate stories of our Chinese settlers that have gone largely untold,” she said.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Yong return to Ballarat.

“The work was devised at Civic Hall during the closure of Her Maj with input from our community, so to be able to see a play set in the same era that this beautiful theatre was first launched is a really beautiful and serendipitous moment.

“It’s a full-circle moment for us and proves that regional theatres don’t have to be merely a stepping stone of larger tours, but the fertile ground on which new works can be created.”

Yong won Best Production for Children at the 2023 Sydney Theatre Awards.

There will be performances held on Thursday 7 August at 1pm and Friday 8 August at 7.30pm.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit hermaj.com/events/yong.