The Far Country- (Yale Repertory Theater), 2024

A breathtaking design enhances the gently told story of “The Far Country."

— Hartford Courant review by Christopher Arnott

Designed by Kim Zhou, the set design displays this message of resilience amidst suffering, quite literally. The set carries the inscriptions that Chinese immigrants carved on the walls of Angel Island in real life. According to Peña, this design element is crucial to not only the telling of the story but in evoking the idea of Angel Island as “both a detention center and a palace for art and poetry.”

— Yale Daily News Review by Jane Park

Ralph B. Peña’s production has a modernist flair, with Kim Zhou’s scenic design contributing large hanging slabs that are sometimes windows or paintings…. the presentation seems aimed to keep us aware of the theatrical nature of these characters who are emblems more than persons. At times, the tone is reminiscent of Brechtian theater, with its sense of how situations define us, and how we may yet alter the script — with a chosen name, a different reply, a professed uncertainty about tears as signs of sorrow or joy, or the Chinese characters carved in a wall, able to make the loneliness and heartbreak of one person belong to all.

— New Haven Independent review by Donald Brown

Scenic designer Kim Zhou’s brooding set gives the audience the impression of being imprisoned in a gloomy, subterranean space, with windows and the suggestion of a nearby seascape just above and out of reach. Eventually, the carved poetry will appear on its walls. The poems will also sit at the emotional center of this 2022 play by Lloyd Suh, which earned a finalist nod for the Pulitzer Prize last year.

— Daily Nutmeg review by Kathy Leonard Czepiel

Kim Zhou’s scenic design offers some amazing visual in conjunction with lighting designer Yichen Zhou and projection designer Hanna S. Kim. At one point Moon Get tells the history of Angel Island and the history that exists literally physically in the walls of the building. The visual representation of this on the set are a stellar with images that look so textured you want to go on stage and see if they are real.

— One Man’s Opinion

* The Far Country at Yale Repertory Theatre and its production team were nominated for 6 Connecticut Critique Circle Awards in 2024, including Outstanding Production.