In He Huang’s show, White Man’s Burden, subtitled White Culture Onboarding Workshop, she is introduced as Christopher Rice, staying in character as a white man throughout. This simple premise, of a Chinese woman acting as a white man helming a corporate bonding session to ‘find your inner white’, holds the show tightly and effectively together.Â
Huang (sporting a White Man™ shirt) goes through the moves of a company PD (Professional Development) day, using charts, statistics, audience interaction and group questions, but with all the content and overall aim very un-PC, and that’s the point.
When Huang/Rice asks the audience questions like “as a white man, what are you most proud of?” (answered with uncomfortable silence) and “do you have a piece of Aboriginal art but have no Aboriginal friends?”, she/he is delving into uncomfortable truths of white cultural dominance that show stereotypes, absurdity and hypocrisy bubbling very close to the surface.Â
She/he says, “We [white men] don’t see colour, we just organise it, curate it”, while dividing the global population into white, black, brown and Chinese. The Chinese label here addresses the horrendously prevalent notion that everyone who looks Asian must be Chinese – as Huang/Rice says, “Chinese are the white people of Asia.”Â
It’s edgy, confrontational, even dangerous comedy. In fact, it would probably be enjoyed by a titan of English-speaking comedy, John Cleese, who has strongly stated that “without criticism we cannot have humour”. Even the title of the show, White Man’s Burden, not apparent until late in the performance, is uncomfortable but strangely accurate.
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Huang’s show is not for everyone, but, from another perspective, it should be seen by as many people as possible.
Tickets: $25-$38
He Huang: White Man’s Burden will be performed at the Portrait Room at the Melbourne Town Hall until 20 April 2025 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF 2025).
