You can call him Cockroach, or Roach for short. He’s a catnip-smoking city slicker living in the dark corners of our homes. A bard (yes, that one) longs for rest as he contends with his legacy. In their crosshairs lies a boy, caught in their collision of linguistics, longing, and lobsters (who sometimes burp). A unique exploration of survival and the dynamics of language erosion, cockroach (曱甴) is a coming-of-age play about the stories we tell ourselves to comfort, to persevere, to resist, to overcome, and to be.
Nominated, Playwrights Guild of Canada Drama Award 2022
Casting: 3 roles m/nb
“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
“Ho has found a powerful and disturbing metaphor for xenophobia and intolerance.”
- Glenn Sumi, NOW Magazine
“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
“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