Format

Full-length play

About

It's 1975, Laos. The Vietnam War has ended and here in Laos, the Communist party has also won. Change and victory is in the air. In a small village up north, a retired Australian teacher, Paul, wallows in grief for his recently deceased wife, another Australian who had come to Laos to teach. As he packs up to leave and return to Australia, his former student, Mai, arrives. Mai, a young Hmong woman, had a brief affair with Paul. As her people, the Hmong, flee their villages to head to the capital city, Mai is determined to say goodbye but Paul rejects her. Later, she returns, having had a near-miss with Communist soldiers intent on wreaking revenge on the Hmong for their part in aiding the Americans in the war. Paul lets Mai in, and as they eat and drink, they reckon with their past fleeting relationship. A late-night visit from a cocky young Communist soldier, who hears Paul singing by the window while Mai is asleep, forces Paul and Mai into a violent decision to knock the soldier unconscious. They tie him up as they frantically plan for what to do with him when the soldier wakes, with the best decision being to leave the soldier and for Mai to come with Paul to the capital city. But in the morning, as the soldier taunts Mai, and as she fears for the safety of her family, Mai kills him unbeknownst to Paul. As Mai leaves, with the soldier dead in the bedroom, Paul and Mai reconcile their past. Mai flees, leaving Paul to uncover what she has done.

Creative team

Writer Michele Lee

Presenter and producer Wit Incorporated

Production and development

2026: Premiere production, Wit Incorporated

2009: First development, Australia Council for the Arts