Kim’s Convenience has enjoyed a longer life than may have been predicted for it. Starting out at Toronto Fringe in 2011, it toured Canada, enjoyed an off-Broadway run and was adapted into a Netflix series that ran for five seasons until 2021 before landing in London at Park Theatre last year, starring its writer Ins Choi.
Its longevity is surprising because there’s little depth to the one-act play. The Toronto neighbourhood that is home to Appa (James Yi) and Umma’s (Candace Leung) convenience store has grown around it in the years following their immigration from Korea to the point that investors are now interested in buying the store to replace it with new flats.
Appa would prefer his daughter Janet (Caroline Donica) to take over the business but she is only interested in photography – to Appa’s chagrin – and his son, Jung (Daniel Phung), fled the family home with the contents of the store’s safe after Appa hospitalised him for a few days after lashing out at the then 16-year-old during an argument.
Appa’s potential for violence is overlooked and underexplored by Choi. He shows Appa’s physical prowess as he performs martial arts moves on a shoplifter (Andrew Gichigi) and Janet’s police officer love interest, Alex (Andrew Gichigi, again) – but it is played purely for laughs. That would be to distract from the heartwarming story Choi would prefer us to focus on as he redirects our attention with a love story and the potential of redemptive love via a prodigal son.
It’s all appropriately sitcom-tinged with even Mona Camille’s detailed set appearing much like a television studio set. But like most sitcoms, there’s little exploration of its themes. So don’t expect an in-depth examination of what it’s like to be an immigrant, the relationship between fathers and sons or domestic violence – but you can expect fine acting, plenty of laughs and enough warmth to make the 75 minutes fly by.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (Good)
