Review: Hot Pot at Lakeside Arts

It was a dinner invitation like no other…. A chance to sample Hot Pot at Lakeside Theatre. By this, I mean the new play by Auka Productions. This powerful performance comes from Director Namoo Chae Lee and Nottingham-based Hongwei Bao. 

The play opens with a minimal, yet atmospheric set featuring the dinner table where the entire play will take place, illuminated by white rabbit lights dotted around the stage. The significance of the rabbits is explained in a scene-setting monologue served up by Windson Liong, who plays Tao. Tao highlights that in Chinese mythology, the rabbit god is the protector of love, which is not recognised by the world, such as queer relationships. The rabbits remain silent observers of the drama. The premise of the play is that Tao, visiting from the UK, has brought together old university friends to catch up twenty years after they graduated. As they arrive, a hotpot dish is lowered onto the table amid bottles of wine. 

At first, the conversation is almost stilted and uncomfortable before we are eased in. As the wine flows, the friends relax, and we begin to see the underlying tension between the ‘then’ and ‘now.’ Lin (played by Michelle Yim) and Tao have both decided to stay true to their creativity, while Ming (played by Struan Davidson) and Mei (played by Shin-Fei Chen) have become high-flying editors and journalists at a cost. Lin delivers an excellent performance that balances occasional humour, edged with the understanding that she herself is struggling in a way that others at the table ignore.

The rabbits watch on solemnly as the friends compare how their lives have changed. The complex tensions are excellently written and, as a queer journalist myself, hugely relatable. In fact, the group dynamic around the table makes you feel like a special guest with a seat at the table or a seat among the rabbits.

The story turns a queer corner as we learn that Tao and Ming once had a secret relationship. The play moves effortlessly between the two as we learn that Tao chose to come out while Ming felt he couldn’t. The pressure placed on him to become the ‘local boy done good’ is sensitively portrayed and written. The topic of rural queer lives is seldom discussed or touched on - I found myself wanting to hear more about what life had been like for Ming. Although it’s hard not to root for Tao, who is outed after his parents find magazines in his room, which forces him to move on campus. There is a sadness in the fact that, instead of the two men finding a way to be together, too much time has passed. 

This was definitely a play where we left feeling full, uplifted and, as with any good meal…. Hoping there is another course yet to come. 

Hot Pot played at Lakeside Arts on Thursday 25 June 2026.