We deserve our stories to be told.

We deserve our stories to be told. We deserve to have our experience listened to and our trauma played out in order to not only heal and mend ourselves, but protect the generations that take over and walk in our footsteps. It’s why theatre, contemporary pieces that exist in pub theatres and on the fringe, are so important, so fundamental to our collective struggle towards success.

That’s what ‘A Thousand Paper Cuts Still Skin Deep’ does. It exists in a space that still doesn’t fully accept it, and it pushes the boundary. Far from being solely queer theatre, it narrates a story of acceptance of one’s self, the very being and reason to exist in a way that I bet each and every queer person has processed. We fuck up, we make mistakes and we struggle to evolve with the world against us day, after god damn day.

It’s why Huang’s play is wonderful, because in the characters I see myself. I see the rawness of all queer people and I’m reminded about the importance of the collective fight for our liberation. Yes, perhaps the ending, the desire for a heteronormative relationship is a little naive in our community of late, but it stems from pressure of wider society to conform.

When every ounce of your being is trying to reject who you are, it isn’t surprising to seek the approval of those connected by blood.

The play speaks of the importance of finding yourself, living in your authentic identity and without sacrifice. It reminds you that this is a journey that is not unique, and that you will fuck up. It reminds you of the paramount importance to live, and live well.

I particularly appreciate the guise of playwright, director, and producer in casting this to elevate the communication of this story. Because whilst I see myself in the characters, this story is personal. It comes across as an autobiography, a study of one’s self with little held back, telling the often unheard tale of consolidating one’s queer identity whilst also being Asian.

There is a rawness, that I wish was pushed further in places. I wanted to explore identity more, and the barriers that places on the characters. I felt that I wanted to know more about and explore further the relationship between Jun-Hwei and River and whether reconciliation every happened. But, I’ll forgive! Like many stories, perhaps this allows us to reflect on our own timelines where we have regretted the people we didn’t fight to understand and hold onto hard enough.

This short run is brilliant, it tells an important story, and if you can make it to Barons Court Theatre before it closes on Saturday, you absolutely should. Click here to see if there are any tickets left!