Review: Kim’s Convenience at HOME is ‘a moving portrait of immigrant sacrifice and success’

Ins Choi’s stage show that inspired the Netflix hit comedy series is currently touring! Kim’s Convenience is at HOME, Manchester this week until Saturday 12^th April, bringing a little piece of the Korean Canadian experience to the UK.

HOME’s intimate venue is the perfect place to experience being a on the wall of the convenience store.

Kim’s Convenience at HOME

Kim’s Convenience presents a thoughtful representation of the sacrifices first-generation immigrants make with the intent to see their children succeed in ways unattainable in the homeland.

Appa (James Yi) is the patriarch, running both the family and his store, struggling with the idea that his daughter Janet (Caroline Donica) does not want to take over the family business but would rather ‘make something’ of herself with photography.

Family dynamics are turbulent with miscommunications across generations wherein Appa believes his children now owe him some degree of sacrifice to show gratitude for the sacrifices he and his wife, Umma (Candace Leung), made for them when they left their lives in Korea and started afresh in Canada.

Kim’s Convenience is an unhurried show that delightfully embodies both Korean and Canadian references that paint a picture of how families creatively find a balance across cultures in their daily lives.

The brilliant James Yi

This staged production features a cast of five. The brilliant James Yi returns to the role of Appa on stage, and has also featured in the Netflix series as Jimmy Young, evident is his admiration for Kim’s Convenience. Performing opposite him is Caroline Donica as his 30-year-old daughter Janet, beautifully bringing to life complexities faced by adult children who feel conflicted between following their passions or pursuing a life their parents envisaged for them.

Candace Leung portrays Appa’s wife and Janet’s mother, Umma, and Daniel Phung is their distanced son, Jung. These two share intimate moments of exposition that delineate personal feelings of failed potential.

Janet’s love interest Alex is played by Andrew Gichigi, who also embodies several customers of Kim’s Convenience who serve to draw out some of Appa’s characteristics and tendencies, giving us a clearer idea of how these characters interact within their business.

The set is exactly how you would imagine walking into a convenience store with fully stocked fridges and rails.

Especially appreciated are the specifically Canadian snacks that fill out the store’s furniture – Ruffles, Miss Vickies, pizza flavour Pringles – a fantastic and recognisable touch for anyone who has spent time in the country.

The store is well stocked with a varied variety of supplies, it truly is a one-stop shop aiming to serve any purpose its customers may have. Fun is the doorbell sound which signals the entrance and exit of people in and out of the store, paired with fluorescent lighting creates the widely recognisable scene of most convenience stores.

Tickets for Kim’s Convenience at HOME

Kim’s Convenience runs for approximately 75 minutes without an interval. Tickets start at £25 and are available to purchase here

Matinees of the performance take place on Thursday 10^th and Saturday 12^th April, and evening performances run every evening until the 12^th before continuing its tour across the UK.