Playwright Ins Choi stars in Kim's Convenience, now on stage at the Grand Theatre

The heartfelt and humourous story of a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store in downtown Toronto is now on stage at the Grand Theatre in London.

Kim's Convenience is a show about the Kim family that has entertained audiences for more than a decade across the country. It aired as a television sitcom on CBC for five seasons and was the first Canadian TV show about an Asian-Canadian family.

But the journey started 12 years ago when it was first launched as a theatre production. The show's playwright Ins Choi joined CBC's Afternoon Drive guest host Colin Butler to chat about what audiences can expect. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

CB: What is the premise of Kim's Convenience? 

IC: It's a day in the life of a Korean family as they run a convenience store in Regent Park. He stays at the store, mans the counter, and greets customers. What sets it off is a real estate friend makes an offer for his store, which sets off a series of events that leads Mr. Kim into a tiny existential crisis of what his life's work means — maybe a bit of his legacy as he tries to convince his daughter, Janet, to take over the store. It's a comedy. 

CB: That doesn't sound tiny at all. Sounds like a big existential crisis. What role are you playing? 

IC: When it first came to the Grand here in London [in 2013], I played the role of Jung, the son. And 12 years later I got really old, I had kids of my own and now I'm dawning on the role of Appa, the dad, for the first time. 

CB: What made you switch roles? What led to that decision? 

IC: There were a few factors involved in that decision. The outgoing artistic director Dennis Garnhum was interested in producing the play, and there was another actor who had just done a production of Kim's Convenience in Calgary and he was great, so I just assumed he would've said yes. But then, they said he was done with the role. There was an opportunity that presented itself. I always wanted to play Appa someday. It was one of the three roles I wanted to play in my life, so it just seemed right. I looked in the mirror and my hair was turning white, I wasn't getting any younger so I jumped right in. 

CB: What has it been like to watch this story grow to entertain people right across the country and beyond that?

IC: It's been a wild roller-coaster ride of joys, but amidst it all I feel the biggest reward for me has been at the height of when it was airing on CBC. I'd go to pick up my kids at school, and I'd overhear them talking to their friends about Kim's Convenience, the TV show. Their friends are of all cultures and none of them thought it was odd that an Asian family was on TV and was much loved. When I was a kid growing up in Scarborough, the only Asians on TV were David Suzuki and maybe Bruce Lee. That was it for representation. That's been the biggest reward.

CB: What's changed around Asian representation in theatre and television since you launched this play 12 years ago?

IC: The world has changed so much, K-pop has had a big influence on how Asians are seen, BTS, even K-dramas on Netflix, Crazy Rich Asians, and Asians in Hollywood. I think there's been a lot of great opportunity, but still, on stage in the theatre I don't see a lot of Asian plays or Asian actors taking that opportunity so it is a rare thing and I hope that audiences in London and the surrounding area can take advantage of this opportunity at the Grand. 

CB: What do you hope the audience takes away from this production at the Grand?

IC: I hope they're entertained, as a playwright that's first and foremost, a good time. But beyond that, I hope the next time they walk into a store and see someone working behind the counter, I hope it can allow them to take a moment to pause and realize there's a whole life behind that two-minute interaction when you're buying a pack of gum or whatever — a life full of dignity, joy and dreams, a family of love that perhaps lives upstairs. Maybe it's an opportunity to show grace or share a chuckle, and that we treat each other better as people in society.