Curtain rises on 'forgotten story' of Chinese WWI workers

The little-known story of the Chinese workers who served on the Western Front during World War I has been brought to a theater in London via an original stage-play.

Forgotten, which was written by British East Asian playwright and actor Daniel York Loh, was inspired by the true story of the 140,000 Chinese men who were recruited in 1916 by the British and French militaries to provide support to front-line soldiers.

The contribution of these unsung heroes was barely recognized at the end of the war and York Loh set out to tell the story of the tremendous efforts made by the laborers during the conflict who, he said, were ultimately "completely forgotten and wiped out of history" and "uncelebrated".

"I don't think anything sums up how invisible the Chinese traditionally are in the Western world, despite being a very large immigrant community," York Loh said. "Nothing sums up that invisibility, that lack of consideration, that lack of acknowledgement, more than the World War I Chinese Labour Corps. It was a huge contribution, let's make no bones about that."

York Loh first wrote the play as a five-minute production, but, after eight months of research and delving into the history books, he went on to develop a full-length play.

"I read a lot of books about the Chinese Labour Corps, about World War I, about the Chinese history and political situation at that point. At one point, it was a huge play, it had 300 pages and it had 25 characters," he said.

The Chinese title of the play means "forgotten, erased or left behind".

The play follows fictional members of an amateur Chinese theater troupe and the opportunities in Europe that are presented to them in 1917 in North China's Shandong province.

"There is obviously a huge tragic and sad undertone of the play but, at the same time, I wanted to celebrate the spirit of human resistance and the spirit of the Chinese people … The spirit of people wanting to leave a story behind," York Loh said.

Forgotten not only reflects the forgotten 140,000 Chinese laborers, but Loh says it also represents the overlooked and "invisible" British East Asian community and shines the spotlight on British East Asian actors.

The piece is a co-production between Moongate Productions and Yellow Earth Theatre and is directed by Kim Pearce.

Forgotten is showing at the Arcola Theatre in London until Nov 17.