Under the Umbrella

Wei has turned 27 and suddenly her grandmother is worried. 27 brings with it the label of “shengnu,” or “leftover woman,” so a husband needs to be found before she’s missed her chance. Unbeknownst to Wei, her grandmother pushes her mother into helping the search. Affixing Wei’s dating profile onto an umbrella, they join the hundreds of parents at the Marriage Market of Guangzhou. Here there’s only one successful transaction: a first date for your child. When Wei learns of her family’s interventions, and her housemate Lucy also begins to meddle, she finds herself asking whether being single is just too much hassle.

With a dual setting of Coventry and Guangzhou, this compelling new play by Amy Ng (Acceptance, Shangri-La) explores tradition, trauma and triumph in the art of finding love.