REVIEW: A Journey to the West - Stepping upon the path paved by tiger parents, painfully yearning for freedom

Back again at Camden Fringe 2025 after its May debut, A Journey to the West returns to London with a compact but emotionally charged 45-minute psychodrama about family, parental control, and the yearning for independence and freedom. Xiaohua, a 24-year-old, has walked a path meticulously paved by his parents. When he’s sent to the UK to study, the physical distance only amplifies his parents’ grip rather than loosens it.

The title of this show carries a double meaning: it refers not only to Xiaohua’s journey from China to the West, but also to the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, featuring the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. In Xiaohua’s subconscious, the Monkey King represents power, resistance, and freedom; however, he was imprisoned under “Five-Fingers Mountain” (Wuzhi Shan) for 500 years as punishment for his rebellion against the heavenly court. Later, he was saved by the monk Tang Sanzang and promised to protect him in return. Though free in body, the Monkey King was eventually subdued by a golden headband, a restraint activated with a painful spell from Tang Sanzang.

Xiaohua’s own invisible headband comes in the form of an inflated puffer jacket created by his parents, which lasts even after he becomes an adult. At border control, he freezes at a simple question, and his parents are shouting answers from behind. Once settled abroad, he still has to call home three times a day. The parents’ voices are loud enough to knock him to the floor—both literally and metaphorically.

The sound design is impressive. Each time Xiaohua’s parents scold or guilt-trip him with “We’re doing this for your own good,” the background fills with a continuous Buddhist spell, symbolising emotional manipulation disguised as love. Their costumes are covered in Chinese characters, further visualising the cultural and linguistic burden they place on their son.

It is also striking that the show incorporates many traditional Chinese elements, particularly Sichuan Opera face-changing and puppetry. A Monkey King puppet stands for Xiaohua’s inner voice. When the puppet is held by his parents, Xiaohua’s behaviour mirrors theirs. But when the puppet speaks directly to him, we finally hear his hidden longing for freedom. The “face-changing” reflects emotional shifts he’s never been allowed to express in real life.

The cast—Yitong Fu, Yi Qu, and Qi Chen—deliver strong and committed performances. Particularly memorable is the opening scene, where Xiaohua walks along a path made of jigsaw pieces laid out by his parents. He steps forward as told, unaware that some pieces don’t quite fit—and his parents don’t know either. In a climactic gesture, his parents remove their clothes, pull out valuables from their pockets, and kneel to lift him toward his future abroad—a metaphor for self-sacrifice at all costs.

If the show has a flaw, it’s that it ends too soon. After Xiaohua realises he can no longer live under their control, we’re left wanting more—perhaps a result of the time limit. Still, A Journey to the West is a fresh, thoughtful show that fuses Chinese cultural symbols with Gen Z psychology. It’s not just about rebellion, but about the complicated process of learning to exist on your own terms.

★★★★

This show is currently performing at Camden Fringe, more info could be found at: https://camdenfringe.com/events/a-journey-to-the-west/

©️A Journey to the West Production

Credits:

Cast: Yitong Fu, Yi Qu, Qi Chen
Producer: Ruoyang Xu, Sunny Jie Liu , Sanri He
Director: Yi Tang
Co-director: Haonan Wang
Playwright: Ziqi Lin,Yi Tang
Sichuan Opera Acting Coach: Zhijie Zhang
Lighting Designer & Technician: Sheron(Xiaoran) Luo
Stage Manager: Hongrui Yao
Marketing Manager: Yiwei Shen
Set Designer: Yuhe Zhang
Props Designer: Wenyan Liu
Costume Designer: Yumu Lin
Music and Sound Designer: Hao Liu
Set Design Assistant: Hanning Zhang, Jiaru Jiang

©️A Journey to the West Production