‘Yoga Play’ // La Boite Theatre

‘Yoga Play’ was enlightening.

Breathe in, breathe out. ‘Yoga Play’ takes you on a journey of mindfulness, right in the homeland of this sacred, spiritual practice…Los Angeles!

Playwright Dipika Guha said she first wrote ‘Yoga Play’ because, amid the state of the world, she needed to laugh, and since its debut in the US in 2017 ‘Yoga Play’ has brought laughter to audiences around the world.

‘Yoga Play’ follows Lululemon-esque athleisurewear company, Jojomon, where team breathing is the new team bonding, going to the gym on your lunch break is part of your quarterly review and wellness is performance.

The story starts as new CEO Joan (Andrea Moor) pitches the revolutionary idea that Jojomon should sell yoga pants beyond size 10 to wannabe hippy founder John before he disappears to a yoga retreat. While the boss is offline, Jojomon is involved in a sweatshop scandal and it’s up to Joan to repair the PR crisis. Along with her A-team, Fred (Jemwel Danao), a people-pleasing Singaporean man with a precarious visa situation, and Raj (Nat Jobe), a first-generation US-Indian with a complicated relationship with his cultural identity, the trio decide to fly over a guru from India to lend some authenticity to their brand and win back the affection of their “family” (customers).

While the Western commercialisation of yoga isn’t ground-breaking, monetising everything from activewear ranges that cap at size 10 to the endless yoga class variations offered by peppy LA yoga instructor Romola (FYI – everything except “the traditional”), ‘Yoga Play’ still provides a comedic reflection on the ways Western culture has commodified what was once a sacred tradition and the marketable contradictions of finding inner peace.

The script explores many themes across racism, identity, cultural appropriation, colonialism, feminism, capitalism, consumerism and more. At times it felt like the play could have benefited by focusing on fewer themes and fully fleshing them out to heighten the impact, as some messages got slightly lost amid the whirlwind of the show and didn’t delve deep enough to reach a satisfying conclusion. Personally, one of the more interesting themes I found was Raj’s complicated feelings towards his Indian cultural identity after being born and raised in Delaware, which I would have loved to have seen further exploration as Raj becomes forced to immerse further in his heritage in Act 2.

At 140 minutes, ‘Yoga Play’ is on the longer side and could have benefited from being slightly condensed. The first half of the play does a strong job of setting the scene but did at times feel repetitive and the momentum occasionally wavered. The second act, however really kicked off with a bang and brought the show’s funniest moments and opportunities for deeper contemplation.

Director Mina Morita brought the best out of the small company of actors who excelled in their roles. Leading the cast as Joan, Andrea Moor was a solid anchor amid the chaos that unfolded, bringing a determined and fierce presence.

Many of the show’s funniest moments came from Jemwel Danao and Nat Jobe as co-workers Fred and Raj respectively. With impeccable comic timing, the duo had fantastic chemistry as seen through their back-and-forth banter and physical humour in reaction to the increasingly ridiculous world around them. Individually the duo also shone with their witty one-liners and were arguably the characters you cared most about in the show.

Rounding out the cast were Thomas Larkin and Camila Ponte Alvarez who both played multiple roles. Larkin played a crucial role in setting the scene of the show as cringey business founder John and then in his later role as Alan. Alvarez as an energetic yoga instructor Romola gave the show a great jolt of adrenaline and many memorable comedic moments.

Set design by James Lew was chic. The stark wooden stone office and pebble cushions perfectly captured the wellness retreat aesthetic, and the exercise balls as chairs further cemented the fitness-focused office. A clever use of set was the upstage screen which showcased the Zoom calls and livestreams. Will Hughes’ sound design and Kate Baldwin’s lighting design both successfully enhanced and amplified the world of the play.

Overall, ‘Yoga Play’ is a witty night of theatre combining laugh-out-loud satire with deep reflection on the search for understanding and authenticity in a capitalist world.

‘Yoga Play’ is in meditating at La Boite until Saturday 23 November 2024. For more information, visit La Boite Theatre’s website.