Michelle Lim Davidson's Koreaboo Premieres at Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne

Michelle Lim Davidson's semi-autobiographical play Koreaboo is now on at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre until 10 October. Davidson wrote the work and stars as Hannah, a Newcastle-born woman who travels to Seoul to reconnect with her biological mother, Umma, played by Heather Jeong. The production is directed by Jessica Arthur for Game. Set. Match., with set and costume design by Mel Page, lighting by Kate Baldwin, and composition and sound design by Wiradjuri/Gamilaroi artist Brendon Boney. The narrative follows Hannah's awkward reunion with Umma at her convenience store in Seoul, where emotional distance and unspoken history dominate. A subplot involving a K-Pop competition show, Star Power, gradually thaws their relationship. Davidson, known for The Newsreader and Melbourne Theatre Company's A Streetcar Named Desire, is one of roughly 3500 Korean children adopted to Australia. Her personal search for her Korean family informs the play's exploration of belonging and displacement. The work also references South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, reopened this year, which investigates forced adoptions. Koreaboo runs at Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, until 10 October.