The Fu Manchu Complex – From October 1 at the Ovalhouse, London

Opening at the Ovalhouse Threatre on October 1…..

The Fu Manchu Complex

by Daniel York

Challenging the ‘Yellow Peril’ racist stereotype, five East Asian actors white up to play the traditional colonials in this hilarious murder mystery in the East End, using physical comedy and the style of the Victorian music hall in a pastiche of classic British cinema.

Who is Fu Manchu: sinister Chinaman, criminal genius, racist myth..?

Battling through clouds of opium, spiffing chaps Dr Petrie and Inspector Nayland Smith must do anything to stop the dastardly plans of evil criminal mastermind Dr Fu Manchu; but will their colonial angst allow them to do away with the villainous evil genius and save merry old England? And as their blundering leads them to ever more absurd conclusions, we ask, who is the real Fu Manchu?

2013 sees the hundredth anniversary of the publication of the first novel featuring Sax Rohmer’s lurid and fantastical racist creation, the evil Dr. Fu Manchu. A century on we re-examine the skewed perceptions that have arisen around this pervasive myth.

Venue: Downstairs

Book /  Box office: 020 7582 7680