{"id":8340,"date":"2017-07-31T15:25:10","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T19:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.ryerson.ca\/asianheritage\/?page_id=8340"},"modified":"2026-01-03T17:24:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T22:24:51","slug":"jovanni-sy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/authors\/jovanni-sy\/","title":{"rendered":"Jovanni Sy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Jovanni Sy is a playwright, director, actor was born in Manila and raised in Toronto where he originally studied engineering at the University of Toronto. Sy’s ancestry is Chinese-Filipino. He was active in the Toronto theatre scene for two decades. He became the artistic director of Gateway Theatre in Richmond, BC in May 2012 and held that position into 2019. When his play A Taste of Empire<\/em> premiered in 2010, it was nominated for two Dora Mavor Moore awards including outstanding new play. Sy continues to live in Richmond, BC. Sy is now based in Montreal. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Drama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nine Dragons: A Play in Two Acts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2018.
PS8637 .Y2 N56 2018<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Set in 1920s Hong Kong, Nine Dragons<\/em> is a hard-boiled detective fiction with a twist: an inquisition into colonialism, racism, assimilation, and the clash of cultures. It\u2019s the classic mystery\/detective genre overlaid with the topical issue of identity \u2013 a struggle that any person of colour faces in any society that privileges whiteness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It starts with murder: a wealthy, white woman is found dead. Nigel Dunston-Smith runs the cop shop in Kowloon, and he needs a detective with clout \u2013 a fellow white guy, that is \u2013 to oversee this high-profile case; his finest detective, Tommy Lam, just won\u2019t do. So he partners newbie Sean Heaney with Lam and sends them to Nine Dragons, the most popular nightclub in town, to get some answers from the Fung family. Though they own and frequent the inner-city club, the Fungs live in the wealthiest neighbourhood around \u2013 the Peak \u2013 where most of the affluent residents are European or British. At first, Lam takes all the guff he gets from the colonials around him. But it doesn\u2019t last: caught between his sense of justice and his experience within an unjust system, Lam rages and turns the tables in the second act by joining forces with the Fungs. The final unravelling is, in the words of one theatre critic, \u201csuitably serpentine.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Drama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Salesman in China<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Co-author: Leanna Brodie.
Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 2026.
forthcoming in Feb. 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Beijing, 1983. Two theatrical titans, Ying Ruocheng and Arthur Miller, are about to embark on one of the most groundbreaking productions in theatre history: Ying’s Mandarin translation of Miller’s influential masterpiece, Death of a Salesman<\/em>. This unprecedented artistic partnership between China and the United States attracts widespread curiosity and skepticism. In the wake of the communist Cultural Revolution, how can Chinese audiences possibly connect to this classic examination of the American Dream? Misunderstandings and tensions in the rehearsal room abound. As whispers of official scrutiny grow louder, the artists soon realize there is much more at stake than their artistic reputations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salesman in China<\/em> explores the fascinating true story behind an historic collaboration that advanced political relations and forever changed the trajectory of theatrical expression in China. Through the challenges posed by mutual incomprehension, artistic and personal differences, and cultural collisions, their unwavering dedication serves as a testament to the transformative power of art and its ability to transcend borders and embrace a shared humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards and Honours <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

2024 Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize for Playwriting<\/a> (Winner)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Drama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Taste of Empire<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2017.
PS8637 .Y2 T37 2017<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The premise of the show is a once-in-a-lifetime cooking demonstration by Chef Maximo Cort\u00e9s, the renowned inventor of his signature-style \u201cImperial Cuisine.\u201d The audience excitedly awaits Chef Maximo\u2019s arrival, relaxing with cocktails and complimentary hors d\u2019oeuvres served to their seats. Suddenly their complacency is broken when Maximo\u2019s amusing assistant, Jovanni, appears onstage. The celebrity chef in unavailable, but no worries: Jovanni, too, is an expert at preparing the traditional Filipino dish Rellenong Bangus<\/em> (Stuffed Milkfish), and the audience follows along on a journey filled with humorous banter and a silky milkfish, sharp chef\u2019s knife in Jovanni\u2019s hand. As he cooks, he deconstructs the dish in humourous and surprising ways, serving up opinions on the European colonization of Asia, the state of modern agriculture, the ethics of food distribution and consumption \u2013 only a few of the ideas sampled in this engaging performance piece. When the actual fish dish is cooked and ready to eat, audience members are given tasting plates and even more food for thought. A Taste of Empire<\/em> is truly a feast for the mind and palate. We call it \u201cIron Chef<\/em> meets Guns, Germs, and Steel<\/em>.\u201d Bon appetit!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Publisher Playwrights Canada Press<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher Talonbooks <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jovanni Sy entry in the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jovanni Sy is a playwright, director, actor was born in Manila and raised in Toronto where he originally studied engineering at the University of Toronto. Sy’s ancestry is Chinese-Filipino. He was active in the Toronto theatre scene for two decades. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":16,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8340","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8340"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21210,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8340\/revisions\/21210"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}