★★★
Narratives centred around the realities of living with Dementia have become more and more frequent on stage. For instance, Matthew Seager’s In Other Words or Tanika Gupta’s A Tupperware of Ashes. However, Cathy Lam’s Ah-Ma (returning to the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time since 2023) is one of the more subtle and gradual representations we have of Dementia, on stage.
It is performed solely by Kasen Tsui, who draws you into the worlds of both a young Cathy and her much loved Ah-Ma (Fujianese for Grandmother). The show begins with Cathy thoughtfully retelling the story of her Grandmother’s extraordinary life.
Ah-Ma has lived through many hardships, from never going to school as a young girl to losing her brother to suicide, raising her nephew as her own son and experiencing an almost deadly wildfire. Yet, through it all, Ah-Ma has always managed to fight and survive. This allowed the show to focus on a wide array of social issues too—making it not only highly moving but also highly relevant!
It is this gradual storytelling that allows us, as the audience, to become fully invested in the life story of this formidable matriarch. So, ultimately, this makes the eventual reveal that Ah-Ma has Dementia to be all the more painful—as we begin to realise that out of all the fights Ah-Ma has faced in her life, this will be her final, most challenging one.
However, there are moments of light relief too. Tsui’s impression of a child chasing after a bus (pre-tantrum), is one that will bring a smile to your face and leave you laughing out loud. Tsui is a wildly energetic performer and brings two characters to life on stage through a range of movement and physical acting expressions. This humour adds to the authenticity of the show. It represents those lighter moments of joy and happiness that you often accidentally find when caring for a sick loved one.
The simple staging allows for much needed moments of reflection throughout the show—which although only 40 minutes, feels rather difficult to digest at times. This comes from the difficult subject matter but also the constant transition between the two characters—Tsui does this with ease but it can still feel clunky and disjointed in parts.
The dialogue is just as central as the staging in this performance. Ah-Ma is filled with lines full of pathos, albeit some are a bit cliché and others don’t necessarily land as they were intended to. However, one that does hit hard is the line “Ah-Ma, if one day you forget everything, please try not to forget love”—which for me sums up the entire show. A granddaughter trying to protect her grandmother’s memories at the same time as trying to keep her legacy alive.
So, despite some cliché dialogue and a few clunky transitions, this is a show that is strung together by love, memory, nostalgia and family. It is painful yet still humorous, lyrical and touching.
Cathy Lam’s Ah-Ma will run until 19 August at theSpace @ Niddry Street, as part of Asia Base—a transnational platform and community showcasing Asian artists and their work on the Edinburgh Fringe.
Words by Cory Gourley
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.