It's 1800 and something. On a sailing ship in the north Pacific a distressed woman seeks a hiding place. To her surprise and horror she is joined by the ship's cook, a Chinese man, who seems strangely reluctant to give her up to the crew who are hinting for her. But they are not a natural team. To her a Chinaman is a lower form of human. To him she's a bringer of bad luck to any ship. Can they overcome their mutual bigotry and distrust to save their lives?
While certainly attempting to challenge bigotry, Alice Clark's short play brings us stereotypes. She is hysterical, impulsive. He is wise in the use of herbs and roots as curatives. It all feels a bit cliched.
And a 19th century sailing ship, however big it might be, is not like a modern cruise liner. There are few real hiding places, let alone an actual cabin, and a search for two people, the two most recognisable individuals on board, wouldn't take long for a determined crew. I'm all for suspension of disbelief, but this felt like a step too far.
The performances from Maddie Grieve and Sebastian Lim-Seet are strong enough. There's plenty of swearing (their speech follows modern English usage), vomiting and blood. There are elements of tension, and several laughs, in an interesting set. But overall the weaknesses dominate and I found myself checking my watch with ten minutes to go - never a good sign. Not the worst in the PPP series that I've seen, but a long way from being one of the better ones.
