Play will tell the story of the generations of women behind Manchester’s Sweet Mandarin Restaurant

The astonishing tale of the grandmother and the incredible true story of the generations of women behind the Manchester Restaurant Sweet Mandarin is coming to the stage at the Royal Exchange Theatre.

Mountains, the Dreams of Lily Kwok, by In-Sook Chappell , tells of Lily’s childhood job in a silk factory, to the murder of her father and finally her journey to the UK.

Based on her granddaughter’s family memoir SWEET MANDARIN by Helen Tse, this new play recounts the incredible true story of the generations of women behind this famous Manchester restaurant. Siu-See Hung takes on the role of Helen Tse and Tina Chiang plays Lily Kwok.

Directed by Jennifer Tang the play asks questions about what you give up to fit in, and what you leave behind to move forward. The restaurant’s famous dish, Mabel’s Chicken Pot, will be cooked live onstage engaging all the senses to tell this epic story of Hong Kong and Manchester’s Northern Quarter. The play opens at the Royal Exchange Theatre from 22 March – 7 April before beginning a UK tour.

Helen has grown up in the UK, but always felt a piece of her story was missing. Amidst the skyscrapers and bustling streets, she meets her grandmother, Lily Kwok, and steps into a past of shocking family secrets that will change her life forever.

Helen Tse and her twin sister Lisa Tse have run the Sweet Mandarin restaurant since 2004. It was voted Best Local Chinese restaurant on Gordon Ramsay’s the F Word, and Helen and Lisa were awarded an MBE for Services to Food and Drink in 2014. They have three cookbooks and a range of sauces that are sold internationally. Helen is also a practicing lawyer with a law degree from Cambridge University.

Writer In-Sook Chappell was born in South Korea and raised in England. Her first play This Isn’t Romance won the Verity Bargate Award and was produced at the Soho Theatre, was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and most recently presented in Korean at the National Theatre of Korea. Her other plays include Tales of the Harrow Road, Absence and P’yongyang.

Director Jennifer Tang is a stage director and theatre-maker. She has worked in theatre and opera across the UK and internationally, including the Scandinavian premieres of two Nick Payne plays. She’s recently directed We Are You  and Clytemnestra at the Gate Theatre as part of the Iphigenia Quartet, and worked with Chris Goode & Co on Weaklings (tour) and Wanted . She was a shortlisted finalist for the JMK Directors Award in 2013.

A Royal Exchange Theatre, Yellow Earth and Black Theatre Live co-production:

MOUNTAINS: THE DREAMS OF LILY KWOK 
By In-Sook Chappell
Directed by Jennifer Tang
Based on the memoir SWEET MANDARIN by Helen Tse

22 March – 7 April