We begin with a chalk-and-cheese meet-cute: Chloe (Mei Mei Macleod) is a kooky student from Britain with Hong Kong heritage who waxes lyrical about Beyoncé; Jonathan (Liam Lau-Fernandez) is a Hong Konger, squarer, and prefers Beethoven. In between their flirting and dancing, their edgy banter includes talk of funerals and self-immolation – an early sign that AJ Yi’s beguiling story will be more than just a cross-cultural romcom.
Chloe returns to Durham University from her holiday encounter in Hong Kong, and is compiling a playlist for Jonathan when she hears of the 2019 pro-democracy student protests there. Change, and even revolution, can come through music, she believes, as she sends him songs by John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Beyonce and Rihanna.
There are some joyful dance scenes and winning comedy in this play, but the romcom vibe fades as the protests bear down on Jonathan. Chloe imagines he is out on the streets, and the pressure heats up when he meets Mr Chu (Zak Shukor), a janitor and avid protestor. They have their own wryly comic kind of meet-cute, but this friendship sees the play veer in another direction.
Emily Ling Williams directs with zest and Liam Bunster’s island-like stage design is wonderful. The actors create a strong chemistry and Yi is evidently a talented writer, both in the comic dialogue and the smoothness of the play’s gear changes. Protest becomes a dominant theme, the relationship between the men growing more essential and touching as Chloe slightly fades into the background.
Her Twitter-led action is revealed as naively self-serving, in an indictment of the sort of millennial protest culture that is conducted online without anything truly at stake. She becomes a flat character in the process, relegated to dancing to her playlist and speaking in soundbites.
The discussion between Jonathan and Mr Chu is far more thought-provoking, especially about the neutral position that Jonathan initially takes, but also on the life-threatening sacrifices involved in protest.
The play soars until a final scene which wraps it all up too schematically, with a real-life funeral after the imagined one of the opening. It feels unnecessary but we do not begrudge it because Yi makes it all zing with humour and warmth, albeit with dollops of schmaltz. For all its gravity, A Playlist for the Revolution is a very good night out.
At the Bush theatre, London, until 5 August
