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You can call him Cockroach, or Roach for short. He’s a catnip-smoking city slicker living in the dark corners behind the toilet. After diving into the diaper of a Chinese baby, Cockroach watches the boy grow up to lose his sense of identity. Understanding what it means to live in a world not built for outsiders, he attempts to help the boy reclaim his culture. But when the Bard himself makes a surprise appearance in hopes of influencing the boy with the “superior” English language, Cockroach finds himself caught in a collision of linguistics, longing, and lobsters (who sometimes burp).
A unique exploration of xenophobia and the dangers of language erosion, cockroach (曱甴) is a coming-of-age play about the stories we tell ourselves to comfort, to survive, to resist, to overcome, and to be.
“A vibrant, often-funny examination of what it means to be an immigrant, a playwright, and even a human: as far as I’m concerned, it should be mandatory viewing for Toronto audiences, a play unlike any other this year.” — Aisling Murphy, Intermission
“Shimmering with rich language [and] colourful characters . . . Cockroach delves deep into a deceptively simple story . . . Ho’s text, which is dense and layered, [is] peppered with sharp humour and an idiosyncratic style that leaves lines flying off the stage and bouncing between characters.” — Joshua Chong, Toronto Star
“Cockroach is a confident, thoughtful and compelling show that will make you think twice about what (or who) we might be crushing under our feet.” — Ilana Lucas, Broadway World
“Ho has found a powerful and disturbing metaphor for xenophobia and intolerance.” — Glenn Sumi, NOW Magazine