On Monday, February 21st at 8 pm, the radio premiere of poet, novelist, scholar and former Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate Fred Wah’s radio play, A Door to be Kicked aired on Kootenay Co-op Radio. This three-act radio play is set in a small-town Chinese-Canadian cafe in the 1950s, explores themes of place, identity, history, and culture, with particular focus on the Chinese heritage that was such an important (and often overlooked) aspect of the settlement period of the Columbia Basin.
👉If you missed the on-air launch of Fred Wah’s radio play, A Door to be Kicked, which was adapted from his 1996 biofiction, Diamond Grill, it will play again on KCR at 6am on Sunday February 27th.
You can also listen online here: https://www.mixcloud.com/culturalworks/
This project was produced by Catherine Fisher at Kootenay Co-op Radio, presented by Kootenay Co-operative Radio and Touchstones Nelson Museum of Art and History, and supported by Columbia Basin Trust (Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance), Osprey Community Foundation, Kootenay Co-op, Nelson and District Credit Union, Vancouver Co-op Radio, and several private donors.
Creative Team
Script by: Fred Wah
Dramaturge: Nicola Harwood
Producer, audio producer: Catherine Fisher
Director: Bessie Wapp
Original music by: Don Macdonald
Technical director: Anthony Sanna
Vancouver studio technician: Molly Caron
Cast
The Poet: Brahm Taylor
Fred Wah Sr.: Fred Wah (recording), Clement Lam (public performance)
Freddie Wah: Tashi Higgs
Connie Wah, Mary Morrison: Marya Folinsbee
Pong, Shu Mar, Grampa Wah, Lawrence Mar, storekeeper, waiter: Jason Xiao
Ed, Sandy, bus driver, girlfriend’s father: Don Gordon
Teacher: Bessie Wapp
Cafe customer: Anthony Sanna
Photo of Fred Wah by Ewan Nicholson