Merlynn Tong. Photo: Brett Boardman.

Content: References to suicide. 

Golden Blood is a bright and high octane coming-of-age drama by one of Australian theatre’s most exciting voices, Merlynn Tong.  Here she reflects on her writing process and inspiration. 

My mother took her own life when I was 14 years old. At her funeral in Singapore, we burned paper effigies of gold bars, gold ingots and hell money. Eight years prior, at my father’s funeral, in addition to the gold and money, we also burned him a life-sized effigy of his Mercedes Benz, complete with his car plate. We even burned two paper women (utterly bizarre, especially for a 6-year-old) and an enormous ornate Chinese palace. 

We were wealthier when my father died, so we had more to offer him. I was worried for my mother. Perhaps she could move into his palace in the afterlife? 

I remember the heat from those massive fires; it felt like the flames were twice my height. The persistent embrace of the heat seemed to warn me that it could envelop me at any moment, just like it had consumed my parents the morning prior. The smell of the smoke lives in me now, and when I catch the scent at an Aussie BBQ or incense burning at someone’s house, I am momentarily brought back into that small child against the big fire; I am haunted by worship and offerings, hope and yearning. 

As I grow older, I realise that the afterlife, grief and gold, love and money, family and status, have been constantly conflated in my world. Golden Blood is my unravelling of these beliefs that have been steeped into my blood. I utilise a pair of siblings recently orphaned, as a catalyst for my exploration. These characters are inspired by the many potent characters I had encountered in my teens. One was my favourite babysitter, a cheeky gangster who played Dance Dance Revolution with me and made up fun songs with my name in it, who one day I saw on the front page of the newspapers – he was one of the biggest scam artists on the island and has since disappeared. Another was a pair of brothers, whose father was to be hanged by the state that day and armed with a knife, they went on a rampage. 

Perhaps I am curious to lift the veil of the glitzy and glamorous Singapore that we so often see on screen. I want to uncover the stories that may be bubbling beneath the skyscrapers and fast cars; the stories of those utterly desperate to ignite themselves into that river of wealth and status, and understand what sacrifices are made along the way. 

I am so thrilled to get to visit the work again after our 2022 season at Griffin Theatre. A remount is a rare and brilliant gift. Thank you to Griffin for producing, to STC and MTC for staging us again. 

It has been a mammoth task bringing this web of emotion, sensations and experiences onto the stage. I want to thank Tessa, Jenni, Chris, Declan and everyone else who patiently sifted through my brain and heart with me and assisted in translating them into words on a page. Thank you to the beautiful creative team for their unyielding artistry. Big love and thanks to Tessa for her heart, her guidance. Thank you to my agents at BMEG, especially the stunning Mavvy. Thank you to my dear friends who have become my family, for flying in to spend time with me. Thank you to Jen and everyone backstage for making magic. 

Thank you to the astounding Charles Wu for sharing his brilliance with me every night. And finally to my beautiful partner Zac: thank you, for always holding my hand through the fires.