THE PLAYWRIGHT:
Jan-Marie Clarke is taking her first play to the stage at Pip Theatre’s 2025 Toucan one-hour play Festival. She comments, “A Teapot Tale has taken quite a few years to develop, and I have to say, the process has been so much fun I feel a bit conflicted about ‘finishing’ the work.”
Jan (and a dear friend) travelled to China in 2013 to buy hotel supplies for her family operated r
esort in NSW’s Northern Rivers. While the premise of the play is based on her encounters there, she is quick to point out there was no misdealing. Any dubious deeds in the play are purely fictitious and intentionally thought provoking.
“Our experience was definitely challenging, but it was also eye-opening and exhilarating. China’s history, particularly its trading history, is so intertwined with who we are, across the globe, I simply felt compelled to express that in some way. Our buying trip boiled down to people dealing with people, strangely, each of them, both familiar and foreign. The characters in the play are all very recognisable to me. I guess in many ways ‘A Teapot Tale’ is me holding up a mirror. I hope audiences will be incited to follow suit.”
THE TALE:
‘A Teapot Tale’ delves into the earthly world of international trade negotiations showing us the human faces of our Chinese and Australian protagonists. Two unworldly Australian women embark upon a shopping trip for hotel supplies in China. Despite a blustering, expatriate Australian Introduction Agent getting in the way, the trio manage to pull off an ostensibly successful deal. Set in a luxurious, though fictitious, Zhongdian Hotel foyer the backdrop reeks of Chinese cultural sophistication. Not so, the cliched travel outfits of the Aussie protagonists. Cultural clashes and misplaced idealism don’t stop there. Bilingual dialogue between the characters is lively and playful, particularly when it comes to cringeworthy teapot puns and wordplay. So much so, audiences may never again drink tea without exploring the genre. Teapots are unashamedly the central metaphor for this tale of hidden agendas, illicit dealings and historical baggage. Appreciation for their outward beauty crosses cultural barriers; however, if we dare to look deeper, is it the essence of what they hold, joy, connection, secrets, that define our relationships? Through light-hearted enjoyment and the simple act of sharing a cup of tea, audiences are invited to become participants in the trade union and discuss the status quo. Did the Australian women achieve the outcome they desired? How do we determine which rules should be bent or disregarded? Where SHOULD we draw the line between hubris and criminality? Perhaps, even more importantly, where DO we draw the line?
