The Best
Cabinet Maker

唐人街木匠

The Best Cabinet Maker acknowledges the Wurundjeri and Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation, the Traditional Owners of the land on which we gather, create and perform. We also pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Elders past, present and emerging.

To you, the person reading this: The show information you see here is for a version of The Best Cabinet Maker that was performed from 28 September - 1 October 2023. The Best Cabinet Maker is still evolving and the team plans to continue developing the project. We can't say when that is yet, but we will be back.

Thank you to everyone who attended the show, and everyone who made this version of the show possible.

We'll see you soon!

你好! Nei hou! (Hello)

Much like the carpentry apprenticeship Ah Chan undertook in the show, making an original musical in the community space is also a 3-year-minimum effort. From the concept of a few songs to today’s 2-act production, The Best Cabinet Maker musical has been nurtured by many people in the community over the years. It never ceases to amaze us how people from different backgrounds rallied behind this story and dedicated countless hours to bring this story onstage. It serves as a continued reminder that even though the musical came in the story of some early Chinese immigrants, it really is a story about love and resilience. It’s a story that belongs to all of us.

It is hard to ignore that even though the story of The Best Cabinet Maker happened more than a hundred years ago, similar stories continue to happen today in this land. We stand in solidarity with the immigrant and refugee communities and the First Nations people. We hope this production serves as an example of “we are stronger together” and invite you to be a part of the story.

In a world where stereotypes and fear still prevail, we hope to sow seeds of understanding and solidarity, starting within our community. With that intention in mind, we present to you The Best Cabinet Maker musical.

- Jun & Bingyao

About the show

Step into the enchanting world of The Best Cabinet Maker, an original musical uncovering the hidden history of Chinese cabinet makers in Melbourne's Little Bourke Street during the late 19th to early 20th century. Follow Ah Chan's journey from Canton to Melbourne, where he trains with master carpenter Ah Mok, facing discrimination as they build a thriving business, and navigating through the challenges of bringing his wife, Ah Moi, into Australia during the era of White Australia Policy.

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《唐人街木匠》是一部原創華人歷史音樂劇，聚焦於一段鮮少被提及的澳洲華人反抗史。隨著音樂響起，我們將回到19世紀末至20世紀初的墨爾本唐人街，隨著主人公阿陳一起，從廣東漂洋過海，懷抱夢想抵達墨爾本，在老師傅阿木的悉心指導慢慢成長為一個優秀的木匠。故事展現了他們如何在那個年代克服重重歧視，建立起自己的金字招牌。但更大的難題還在等待著阿陳，在那個白澳移民政策盛行的年代，阿陳和他同樣來自廣東的妻子阿梅要經過多少道考驗，才能終於在澳大利亞團聚？

The Best Cabinet Maker

28 September - 1 October 2023

Library at the Dock, Docklands VIC

Cast

AH CHAN

AH MOI

AH MOK

ENSEMBLE

Wahyu Kapa

Lauren May Cheok

Bryan Yap

Paola Cetra

Sabrina Chou

Musicians

MUSIC DIRECTOR /GUITAR

YANGQIN

DIZI/XIAO

ERHU (Pre-recorded)

Jun Bin Lee

Bingyao Liu

Wei-Lin Tseng (Lyn)

Kanghui Yu (Murphy)

Creatives & Production Team

PRODUCER

CO-DIRECTOR / CO-WRITER / COMPOSER

CO-DIRECTOR / MOVEMENT COACH

CO-WRITER

TRANSLATOR (MANDARIN)

LIGHTING DESIGNER & OPERATOR

SOUND ENGINEER

ASSISTANT SOUND ENGINEER

SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION

SHOW PROGRAM & WEBSITE

Bingyao Liu

Jun Bin Lee

Sarah Yu

Isabelle Khor

Bowie Lei

Theresa Au-Young

Jiang

Hongrui Wu

Bingyao Liu

Isabelle Khor

Musical Numbers

Act 1

1888 Hours

Chinatown

Two Of Us

Best Cabinet Maker

Gold Mountain Wife

Like Us

See You Soon

Stay Quiet

Play By The Rules

The Chinese Cabinet Makers Union

Ah Chan, Ensemble

Ah Chan, Ah Mok, Ensemble

Ah Chan, Ah Moi

Ah Chan, Ah Mok, Ensemble

Ah Moi

Ah Mok, Ah Chan, Ensemble

Ah Moi, Ah Chan, Ensemble

Ah Chan, Ah Mok, Ensemble

Ah Mok, Ensemble

Ah Chan, Ah Mok, Ah Moi, Ensemble

Act 2

Best Cabinet Maker (Reprise)

Home

Like Us (Reprise)

Thousandaire

Play By The Rules (Reprise)

One More Month

The Rest Is Up To Us

Ah Chan, Ah Moi

Ah Moi

Ah Chan, Ah Moi

Ah Chan, Ah Moi, Ah Mok

Ah Mok, Ah Chan, Ah Moi, Ensemble

Ah Chan, Ah Moi, Ah Mok, Ensemble

Ah Mok

Our Story

2022 January

Wahyu and Jun participated in a musical writing workshop in Sydney, hosted by Hayes Theatre. This is where we met Lauren. :)

2021 December

We workshopped an educational + interactive version in collaboration with the Chinese Museum, hoping to reach out to school students one day. Featuring Wahyu, Sohee, Bingyao, Jun and Fiona.

2021 June-July

The musical idea was conceived at Abbotsford Convent's Pivot Residency program 2021. We did a presentation at the end of residency, featuring Wahyu, Bingyao, Boya, Murphy, Sarah, Tian, Gabriel, and Jun.

2023 July-August

With funding once again from City of Melbourne Arts grant, we called our actors back onboard and some of the musicians. Bingyao took on the challenge of being the producer, and Sarah joined us this time as a choreographer. Paola and Sabrina were casted as ensemble members.

Isabelle joined the writers team.

The story became two acts and the script was translated into Chinese for captions.

2023 February

Jun did a residency at Platform Arts in Geelong, where he researched historical figures Ham Hop and Poon Gooey, who lived in Geelong for three years before Ham Hop was deported in 1913. Ah Chan and Ah Moi's love story is based upon their true story.

Whilst Jun was working on a new work, some of the songs from Best Cabinet Maker musical actually came from this residency.

2023 September-October

Curtains up at Docklands Library. Stay tuned for what's to come!

2022 April-May

With the City of Melbourne Arts Grant, we expanded the storyline and characters and completed Act 1. We did a month of workshopping with Wahyu, Bryan and Lauren for their respective characters, and collaborated with 5 musicians - Bingyao (Yangqin), Murphy (Erhu), Lyn (Dizi & Xiao), Monica (Guzheng), Theresa (Percussion). We also engaged Amy as our dramaturg.

We wrapped up with two presentations at Chinese Museum. Through this presentation we met Isabelle, our co-writer!

Meet the Team

Click each person's picture to view their profile.

Their Story

Here are some of the real-life stories and places that inspire our musical.

Num Pon Soon 南番順 Building

Ah Chan is introduced to The Num Pon Soon Building in “Chinatown”. The building served as a lodging house for migrants, specifically from Sam Yup, a region in China.

Sam Yup consisted of 3 counties. As the lyrics go “Some from Namhoi, Soondak and Poonyee. That’s right, here we form a tight-knit community”.

You can find the building still standing along Little Bourke Street in Chinatown.

Photo by Kensarlance via Wikimedia Commons.

Two pictures of furniture with triangular "Chinese Labour" stamps, and one which says "European

Furniture Stamps

In the song “Like Us”, the Chinese furniture makers are faced with new legislation. The Factories and Shops Act of 1896 came as tensions rose between the Chinese and European furniture makers, and they competed to sell furniture at cheap prices during a depression.

One of the new rules was that furniture was required to be stamped stating if the product was made with “Chinese Labour” or “European Labour Only”. The intention was to distinguishing the products in hopes that customers would prefer the European-made furniture. In truth, many people still opted for Chinese furniture for their low cost and good quality.

Photos (from left to right) from Masterfind.com, Melbourne Heritage Action, and State Library of Victoria.

White Australia

The Immigration Restriction Act, also known as the White Australia Policy, came about in 1901 when Australia became a federation. It was designed to keep out migrants deemed “undesirable” and encourage the ideal “white” Australia.

Before “See You Soon”, you’ll hear an unnamed voice give a speech about the White Australia Policy. While this particular recording is from us, it is based off a real speech by Alfred Deakin who said “We protect ourselves against undesirable coloured aliens, why not against the products of the undesirable alien labour?”

One part of this policy was a dictation test, which required a newly-arrived migrant to write down 50 words as spoken by a migration officer. Ah Moi sits for this test in “See You Soon”.

This is a poster with lyrics to a “White Australia” song written in 1910 in support of the White Australia Policy.

Photo from Encyclopædia Britannica

The Mongolian Octopus

"The Mongolian Octopus - His Grip on Australia" was published in The Bulletin in 1886. The cartoon is referenced in "Stay Quiet".

Two of the octopus’ arms are labelled “fan-tan” and “pak-ah-pu”, two Chinese lottery games popular at the time. The latter makes an appearance in Act 2.

Photo from National Library of Australia.

Family portrait of Ham Hop, Poon Gooey and their two daughters as published in a newspaper in 1913, shortly before their departure. There is a caption below the picture that reads “Mr Hop Poon Gooey is at last taking his wife back to China, together with their Australian-born children, in obedience to the command of the commonwealth government.” There is also smaller text below as part of the article.

Ham Hop and Poon Gooey

Ah Moi and Ah Chan real-life counterparts. Poon Gooey was a fruit merchant in Australia, while Ham Hop remained in China until she was allowed to join her husband in 1910. Although she was originally given six months, the couple were able to stay together for a few years through petitions and extensions. Their two daughters were also born in Australia.

The couple's petitions gained widespread support and it became a community effort to get them to stay. Despite this, the family wasn’t successful and left Australia three years after Ham Hop’s initial arrival.

This picture and headline of the couple and their children was published in 1913 before they left.

Ham Hop is not a character in The Best Cabinet Maker, but see if you can catch the reference to her story in the show!

Photo from National Archives of Australia: A1, 1913/9139.

Harvest of Endurance Scroll

You may recognise this art piece from our event poster. This scene is actually part of a larger piece of art - a 50-metre long scroll! The art that spans across this paper depicts the journey of the Chinese community in Australia, starting with rugged workers on the goldfields during the initial wave of migration in the late 1800s to more comfortable living in modern times. The last scene, set in the 1980s (the scroll was completed in 1988) represents the friendships and sense of community between people of diverse backgrounds as they take part in cultural activities like dragon boat racing, or the more “mundane” everyday activities of sandcastle building.

The scroll is painted in a style called Gong Bi. Meticulousness and detail are key to Gong Bi, and to achieve this high level of detail, artists apply multiple layers of paint - usually between three to ten layers.

It was conceptualised and researched by Mo Yimei, and painted by her brother Mo Xiangyi and his wife Wang Jingwen.

Credit:
Harvest of Endurance Scroll: A History of the Chinese in Australia, 1788-1988. Artist Mo Xiangyi, assisted by Wang Jingwen, with researcher Mo Yimei. Ink on paper, mounted on silk and paper. © Australia China Friendship Society. National Museum of Australia.

Supported by

Special thanks to

Patrick Neilson, Jun’s parents, Amy Baranowski , Calvin Chua, Albert Chiang, Yvonne, Yining

Media Partners

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