The comedy store

Actor and pastor James Yi tells DAVE FREAK why he's got a loyalty card for Kim's Convenience

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“I’M getting to see so much of the UK already, and it’s such a beautiful country,” enthuses visiting Vancouver-based actor James Yi.

In the country for the debut tour of comedy-drama Kim's Convenience, he’s been especially impressed by so many buildings that are - by North American standards ancient!

“The architecture is quite different. Seeing so many older buildings preserved, and done so in such a beautiful way I think it’s a good lesson for North Americans. It’s not all about glitz and new buildings all the time - there’s some beauty in preserving the historic buildings.”

Written by actor/playwright Ins Choi, Kim's Convenience debuted at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2011 before going on to enjoy well-received New York and London runs, although it’s arguably the successful Netflix sitcom spin-off for which it is best known.

Set in a Canadian family-run convenience store, the stage production follows the lives of the owner and those around him.

“The story is about an immigrant family that has been fractured by a significant relational issue between the father and the son,” says James, who plays the patriarch. “They have been estranged for 15 years, and the father, Appa, has just been running the store.

“Then one day, a real estate agent comes through the door and says that he wants to buy the store.”