Betty Quan

Mother Tongue by Vancouver playwright Betty Quan is one of the most beautiful and moving plays to have appeared this Toronto season.Mimi , a young Vancouver Chinese girl , is her family's bidge.Her younger brother is deaf , and her widowed mother refuses to learn English , nor can she communicate by sign language.Thus , the two communicate only through Mimi.The crisis in Mother Tongue occurs when Mimi has a chance to go away for post-gradate work.Her dilemma is leaving behind a house of silence.Quan writes in sensual , poetic language that stimulates the imagination , yet also draws characters that are very real , and without a trace of sentiment.All three family members communicate thei inner thoughts in monologues to the audience , yet , sadly , are incapable of speaking directly to each other.The gift of the play is that the audience is on the inside of the characters' souls.

Similar apprehensions were voiced by playwright Betty Quan (The Dragon's Pearl, Ghost Train, Mother Tongue) when I interviewed her for a national magazine article last year.

Similar struggles are faced by actors of colour.

Betty QuanPlaywrights Guild :: Playwright
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Betty Quan

Betty Quan writes for stage, radio and television.She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia, and has served residences at The Canadian Film Centre Television Drama program and at the Tarragon Theatre.

Cover story on playwright Betty Quan, Ricepaper, spring 2001

Film and theatre reviews, in Ricepaper Online (no longer online)

Do Wok a Do, summer 2001 (no link available, coming soon!)