'Kim's Convenience' review – this gentle, charming cross-cultural comedy warms the heart

Read our review of Kim's Convenience, the original stage play that inspired the hit TV series, now in performances at Riverside Studios to 26 October.

You may have heard of sitcom Kim’s Convenience from Netflix, but Ins Choi’s original stage drama premiered at the Toronto Fringe way back in 2011. After a well-received outing at the Park Theatre earlier this year, Choi himself returns as patriarch Mr Kim, known as Appa, in a gentle show paying homage to immigrants who have made Canada their home.

The heart of Choi’s family comedy is the local shop where Appa gives out both advice and insults, while selling his chocolate bars along with boxes of kimchi.

The show is a snapshot of the immigrant experience, along with cultural and generational conflict between a father and his two children. Appa’s offspring Janet and Jung are now adults, having been born in Canada and worked at the store throughout their childhoods. Janet is a photographer with different values to her father, while Jung is conspicuous by his absence, estranged from his family.

Choi is very likeable as Appa, with smart comic timing. He cannot comprehend how his daughter is not desperate to take over his hard-won business. Choi gives Appa a sharp and often critical tongue, balanced with affection and warmth.

He also has a lovely chemistry with his onstage daughter Janet (Jennifer Kim), who conveys the conflict between her father’s expectations and her own dreams and ambitions. Her brother Jung is an eloquent and quietly distressed Edward Wu, although more detail of his backstory would have been welcome.

Namju Go’s Umma is kindly, but underused. Miles Mitchell is endlessly versatile in a multi-roleing performance, particularly as shy local policeman Alex, who develops into Janet’s potential new boyfriend.

Choi’s script is well-observed and often funny. However, the messages surrounding the challenges of the immigrant experience are insufficiently explored. There is too much to cover to fully develop all the characters and the resolution is a little too quick to sew up the many loose ends.

Esther Jun’s direction creates the feeling that you are watching an episode of the sitcom being filmed, with lots of exaggerated physicality and pauses for audience reactions. The more muted scenes where Appa and Umma converse in Korean are when the show feels at its most natural.

The show looks incredibly authentic. Mona Camille’s wonderful set is an immersive replica of a local supermarket, with its luminous, humming drinks fridges and neat shelves housing instant noodles alongside cereal boxes and chewing gum. The clash of cultures is also subtly shown with posters advertising both the Toronto Garlic Festival and Chuseok, a Korean Harvest Festival.

Adrienne Quartly’s sound design also transports us into the world of the shop, with a familiar-sounding electric bell announcing entrances and exits.

Kim’s Convenience is not trying to be groundbreaking or convey anything radical. As such, it is a very enjoyable show that brims with watchable charm.

Kim's Convenience is at Riverside Studios through 26 October. Book Kim's Convenience tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: Kim's Convenience (Photographs by Danny Kaan)