An impending move to London prompted Cheng to sit down with his mother and have their first real in depth talk, and he learned things about his family he'd never know, and might have preferred not to. In revealing the past he takes us through tales of Toblerone, soft toys and his own, as it was once put to him, "Chinese-ish-ness".
The casual racism he's encountered features a lot, often with the other protagonist wholly unaware of their own prejudices. He almost manages to regret living up to the stereotype of being good at maths, but can't resist sharing his love of a good spreadsheet. And his own struggle with learning to accept that sometimes being 'different' can work to his advantage, both personally and professionally. Even if 'Chinese' for some apparently encompasses Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean.....
His calm on stage presence is the basis for a stream of well worked jokes, and a circular construction that brings us back to a satisfying emotional conclusion. It breaks no ground, but this is a strong set of observational comedy, with enough food for thought to please anyone hoping for something a bit more cerebral that simple joke telling.
This was Ken Cheng's final show of the 2018 Fringe.
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