Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Winner of Best New Play and the Patron’s Pick Award at Toronto’s Fringe Festival, Kim’s Convenience is the critically acclaimed, wildly popular, smash-hit debut by celebrated actor, playwright, and poet Ins Choi.
Mr. Kim is a first-generation Korean immigrant and the proud owner of Kim’s Convenience, a variety store located in the heart of downtown Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood. There, he spends his time serving an eclectic array of customers, catching petty thieves, and helpfully keeping the police apprised of illegally parked Japanese cars. As the neighbourhood quickly gentrifies, Mr. Kim is offered a generous sum of money to sell — enough to allow him and his wife to finally retire. But Kim’s Convenience is more than just his livelihood — it is his legacy. As Mr. Kim tries desperately, and hilariously, to convince his daughter Janet, a budding photographer, to take over the store, his wife sneaks out to meet their estranged son Jung, who has not seen or spoken to his father in sixteen years and who has now become a father himself.
Wholly original, hysterically funny, and deeply moving, Kim’s Convenience tells the story of one Korean family struggling to face the future amidst the bitter memories of their past.
This edition includes an eight-page black-and-white photo insert of the original Fringe production and the Soulpepper production.
Ins Choi is an actor and a playwright. His first play, Kim’s Convenience, won Best New Play and the Patron’s Pick Award at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival. The play then launched Soulpepper Theatre’s 2012 season to a sold-out run and rave reviews. Choi has also been a member of many collectively created shows: 2000 Candles, The KJV: The Bible Show (ArtsEngine), Window on Toronto, and (re)birth: ee cummings in song (Soulpepper). He is now working on a one-person show based on his poetry entitled, The Subway Stations of the Cross. Born in South Korea, Choi grew up in Scarborough, and now resides in Toronto with his wife, Mari, and their two children, Poem and River.
Publication Date: May 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-77089-223-1
Trade paperback $14.95
Praise for Ins Choi and the theatrical production of Kim’s Convenience:
“How do I love Kim’s Convenience? Let me count the ways . . . It’s the kind of show that restores one’s faith in the theatre . . . There are many Korean groceries all over the world, but it took a Korean-Canadian in Toronto to decide to immortalize all the hard-working brave countrymen of his who left aside often prestigious careers and started all over again in this country, working eighteen-hour days to give their families a better life . . . There are many reasons to cheer at Kim’s Convenience. Join the celebration.” — Toronto Star (****)
“The world of the show is quite complex and colourful, filled with interesting insights into Korean-Canadian culture.” — Globe and Mail (***1⁄2)
“In some ways the play is a lighter-hearted Death of a Salesman, one in which gulfs between the generations are wide but bridgeable . . . The comedy is funny, and the emotions, genuine, and at its best, the play combines the two.” — National Post
“Kim’s Convenience deserves to be open for business a long time. It sells a specific story with universal appeal, and it’s as stomach-hurtingly funny as it is dramatic and moving.” — NOW Magazine (NNNNN)
Kim’s Convenience can be seen on stage at Soulpepper Theatre Company from May 16 to June 16 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, located at 50 Tank House Lane in the Distillery Historic District. Tickets are on sale now and range from $22 -$68 (plus service charge) and are available by calling the Young Centre box office at 416.866.8666 or by visiting soulpepper.ca. $22 tickets are available for 21-30 year-olds at stageplay.ca. StagePlay is sponsored by TD Bank Group. Kim’s Convenience is performed by Clé Bennett, Ins Choi, Esther Jun, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, and Jean Yoon.
Photo: Adèle Benoit.
2012-05-11
Toronto: Ins Choi’s acclaimed play “Kim’s Convenience” is now available from House of Anansi Press