The Concept of Home and Belonging and the Loss of Heritage in Tiang’s play The Last Days of Limehouse: The Dynamics Complexity of Multicultural Identity

Abstract

Tiang’s play The Last Days of Limehouse discusses the end of London's first Chinatown. The play raises issues of heritage and loss, as well as what is considered culturally meaningful (and by whom). Moving from a majority Chinese nation to one where they are an ethnic minority allows them to find a sense of belonging in Chinatown. As a response to this loss, Tiang’s play seeks to tell the stories of its residents and to be able to bring this location back to life for the audience before sending them out into Limehouse streets, where they could feel its loss all the more strongly as they made their way home.

This essay tackles the dynamic complexity of multicultural identity as Stuart Hall calls it ‘the second side’  in order to clarify how these multiple identities affect the characters' personalities and psyche in Jeremy Tiang’s play The Last Days of Limehouse. Skin color, language, discourse, class, education, career, skills, community, family, activities, area, friends, food, attire, customs, and political opinions are all examples of cultural identities. Hence the researchers conclude that acculturation, as well as cultural shock, are the main reasons behind the inner conflict of Jeremy Tiang’s characters in The Last Days of Limehouse. This inner conflict reflects their sense of belonging to Limehouse in London as a replacement image of the real home and culture in their Nation's land.