The Arts Club Theatre Company’s Canadian Premiere Production of Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee

THE ARTS CLUB THEATRE COMPANY’S CANADIAN PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF

HISTORY AND MUSIC COMBINE IN THIS THEATRICAL JOURNEY

By Lauren Yee
Featuring songs by Dengue Fever

March 6 to April 6, 2025

The Arts Club Theatre Company’s Canadian Premiere production of Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee is coming to the historic Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.

History and music combine in this theatrical journey. In Cambodian Rock Band, six actor-musicians make up the cast and perform a mix of contemporary Dengue Fever hits and classic Cambodian oldies. Lauren Yee brings to vivid life the Cambodian rock scene of the ‘60s and ‘70s, a movement cut short by the Khmer Rouge’s brutal attempt to erase the music—and musicians.

This darkly funny, genre-defying play tells the story of a Khmer Rouge survivor returning to Cambodia after thirty years, just as his daughter prepares to prosecute one of the country’s most notorious war criminals. While an onstage band brings foot-stomping hits to life, the electric play shifts back and forth in time as the father reveals family secrets that exhibit the enduring power of music and the resilience of the human spirit.

“This show isn’t just a play, it’s also a rock concert with heart that looks at political upheaval and personal struggles side-by-side,” said Ashlie Corcoran, Arts Club Theatre Company Artistic Director. “The play is disturbing, funny, thrilling, joyful, and tragic—these sharp clashes of tone help share the reality of the nightmarish brutality of the Khmer Rouge in a unique and eye-opening way. The award-winning playwright, Lauren Yee, is a chameleon writer and takes audiences on a deep dive into this historical time while bringing to life the music of the era. The Arts Club Theatre Company is honoured to be producing the Canadian Premiere of this play under the direction of Jivesh Parasram.”

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Lauren Yee is an American playwright from San Francisco currently in residence with Signature Theatre (New York City) as part of their Residency 5 program. Yee is the second most-produced playwright in America for the 2019–2020 season, as per American Theatre Magazine. The Great Leap and Cambodian Rock Band also top the list of the 10 most produced plays in the country. Yee is one of six Doris Duke Artists for 2019 for outstanding contribution to theatre. Cambodian Rock Band has received the LA Drama Critics Circle Ted Schmitt Award and the Steinberg/ATCA Award for best new play.

CAST

Kayla Sakura Charchuk (Pou/S-21 Guard/Keyboard), Nicco Lorenzo Garcia (Duch), Jay Leonard Juatco (Leng/Ted/Cadre/Electric Guitar), Jun Kung (Rom/Journalist/Drums/Percussion), Kimberly-Ann Truong (Neary/Sothea), Raugi Yu (Chum/ Electric Bass Guitar)

CREATIVE TEAM

Jivesh Parasram (Director), Mary Ancheta (Musical Director), Jung-Hye Kim (Set Designer), Stephanie Kong (Costume Designer), Itai Erdal (Lighting Designer), Ace Martens (Sound Designer), Matthew Ip Shaw (Fight Director), Johnny D Trinh (Assistant Director), Peter Heang (Cultural Consultant), Sothea Thangdy “Amy” Kim (Dialect Coach), Erika Morey (Stage Manager), Peter Jotkus (Assistant Stage Manager)

Cambodian Rock Band is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

ABOUT THE ARTS CLUB THEATRE COMPANY

The Arts Club Theatre Company is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, in particular the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations, We invite you to reflect on your relationship to these lands.

The Arts Club is one of the largest not-for-profit theatre organizations in the country and is the principal gathering place for the theatrical arts in British Columbia. Comprising three unique venues across Vancouver, the Arts Club welcomes more than a quarter million guests annually, tours provincially and nationally, and engages students and artists alike through educational and professional programs.

Above all, the Arts Club is dedicated to the advancement of local artists telling stories from around the globe and, in particular, those of our region. From this, we believe that culture expands, an understanding of differences is nurtured, and art bursts forth. The Arts Club was founded in 1964 and is currently led by Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran and Executive Director Peter Cathie White.

A not-for-profit registered charity · No., 11921 3551 RR0001

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Media release provided by Cynnamon Schreinert, Hartley PR.